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CELEBRATION 






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TOWN OF SUFFIELD, CONN., 



Wednesday, Oct. 12, 1870. 



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HARTFORD: 
WILEY, WATEIOIAN & EATON, STEAM KOOK AND JOB TlilNTEKS. 

1871. 



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INTRODUCTION. 



Wlicre arc the graves wlicrc dead men slept 

Two hundred years ago ? 
Who were they who wept 

Two hundred years ago ? 
By other men who know not them 
Their hmds are tilled, their graves are filled, 
Yet nature then was just as gay, and bright the 

sunshine as to-day. 

Those who are familiar with ancient mythology will recollect 
the story of the good Isis, who w^ent forth wandering and weeping 
to gather up the parts and fragments of her murdered and scat- 
tered Osiris, fondly yet vainly hoping that she might recover and 
recombine all the separate parts, and once more view her husband 
in all his former proportions and beauty. With equal assiduity 
have a few citizens of Suffield sought to gather up the relics of the 
past, and place themselves for the time amid the scenes and cir- 
cumstances in -which our forefathers lived and died. 

We thus place the past and present side by side, and arc ipial- 
ified to judge of the progress of events, to sympathize with our 
forefathers in their privations and labors, and honor them for 
their deeds of virtue and valor. 

The Two Hundredth Anniversary of the existence of the 
Town of Sufheld, as a distinct municipal Corporation, occuring 
on the 12th of October, 1870, it occurred to the minds of a few 
citizens that it w^ould be a proper and worthy time to celebrate 
the event. Accordingly, at the legal town meeting, heldpctober 
4th, 1869, the subject w\as brought before the people, and it was 
unanimously voted that the event be celebrated in a patriotic 
and spirited manner. A Committee of sixty-seven persons w\as 
appointed to carry out the vote, and a sum not exceeding $1,500 
was appropriated for the purpose. 



This Committee subsequently met and appointed tlic following 
citizens as an Executive Committee : 

Daniel W. Norton, Gad Sheldon, 

Simon B. Kendall, IIezekiah S. Sheldon, 

William L. Loo:\[is, T. IIezekiah Spencer, 

Henry M. Sykes, 

wlio were to have the general oversight of the preparation and 
carrying out of the design of the vote, and it is due to their zeal 
and labor that the occasion was so fittingly celebi'ated. 



n^RELTMHSr^RIES. 



At a legal Town Meeting of the Town of Suffiekl, Conn., 
held at the Town Hall, in said Suffield, October 4th, A. D. 1869^ 

On motion of D. AV. Norton, presented by the Clerk, Wm. L. 
Loomis, Esq., viz: That in view of the fact that during the 
year 1870 the Anniversary of the Second Centennary Year from 
the "Grant of the General Court at Boston," and the first settle- 
ment of this Town occurs ; therefore, 

Voted, That this Town take suitable measures to observe 
and celebrate said Anniversary, during the year 1870, in an 
intelligent and respectable manner, becoming the age in which 
we live, and in a public manner. 

Voted, That a Committee of sixty-seven persons of this Town 
be appointed to inaugurate and carry out a programme for the 
same, in a becoming manner, for said Anniversary, at a suitable 
time during the coming year. And that said Committee shall 
have the power and right to expend and pay out such sums or 
parts of sums of money, in j)romoting the objects of said Anni- 
versary, or the necessary expenses, as the Town ma}^ appropriate 
for said ol:)ject. 

Voied, That this Town appropriate a sum not exceeding fifteen 
hundred dollars for said object, to be used by said Committee. 

Voted, Thflt the Committee consist of the following named 
persons, viz : Daniel W. ISTorton, Col. Simon B. Kendall, Sam- 
uel Austin, Gad Sheldon, Elihu S. Taylor, Henry Fuller, Albert 
Austin, Wm. L. Loomis, ]\Iilton Ilatheway, Doct. Aretus Rising, 
Edwin P. Stevens, George Fuller, Ilezekiah Spencer, Artemus 
King, Henry P. Kent, Byron Loomis, Thaddeus II. Spencer, 
George A. Douglass, Silas W. Clark, Ilezekiah S. Slieldon, 
Hiram K. Granger, Thomas J. Austin, Alfred Spencer, James 
B. Rose, Warren Lewis, Nathan Clark, L. Z. Sykes, Julius Har- 
mon, Burdett Loomis, I. Luther Spencer, Benjamin F. Hastings, 



6 

Frank P. Loomis, Cbas. A. Chapman, Wm. E. Harmon, Iloracc 
K. Ford, Ealph P. Mather, John M. Ilatheway, Henry M. 
Sykes, and others. And tl)at said Committee take measures 
necessary to inaugurate said Anniversary in this town. 

The preceding votes of the Town of Suffield, relating to the 
celebration and the appropriation of said Town for said Anni- 
versary, were ratified and confirmed by a resolution of the Gen- 
eral Assembly of this State, held at New Haven, at their May 
Session, 1870, which passed and was approved June 9tb, 1870. 

At subsequent meetings of said Committee, heretofore named 
and duly organized for that purpose, they appointed their Exec- 
utive and Finance Committees, a Committee on Invitation and 
Reception, a Committee of Arrangements to procure a tent, 
music, and to provide for the collation at the close of the exer- 
cises in the church, with the kind assistance of the Ladies of Old 
Suffield, at 2 o'clock, P. M. 

The Officers of the Day were 

PRESIDENT. 
DANIEL W. NORTON. 



Capt. Apollos Phelps 
Capt. Seth KinOx, 
Rev. Amos Cobb, 
Hezekiah Spencer, 
Gad Sheldon, 
Samuel Austin, 
George Fuller, 
Milton Hathewav, 
Henry P. Kent, 



VICE-PRESIDENTS. 

Elihu S. Taylor, 
Albert Austin, 
Henry Fuller, 
Edwin P. Stevens, 
Artemus King, 
Hiram K. Granger, 
Warren Lewis, 
George A. Douglass, 
Julius Harmon. 



CHIEF MARSHAL. 
Col. Simon P>. Kendall. 



F. P. LooMi.s, 
R. A. LooMis, 



ASSISTANTS. 



John Nooney, 
B. F. Terhttt. 




SUFFIELD, CONN. 



€IKC¥]LAM. 
The) Se>©@)al ©©®l©m®Ml ^emlv©i@aiF 

MF tlio "Grant of General Court at Boston, Octol)er 12th, 1670," 
^<2) occiiring the jircscnt year, it has been decided, by vote of this 
town, to celebrate the event, and to circulate the notice as widely as 
2)0ssible among the sons and daughters of Suftield that have gone out 
from us and their descendants. 

All such arc cordially invited to meet with us here, on the twelfth 
clay of October next, for a re-union at that time, and participate in the 
exercises, with the assurance of a hearty welcome, both public and private. 
Every cft'ort will be made to make the occasion interesting and profitable, 
and tlie stay of our guests agreeable; and it is hoped that the gathering 
of those who have wandered so far away from us, and have been so long 
separated, will warm the heart and quicken the feeling of common inter- 
est and union. 

WM. L. LOOMIS, ^ 

SIMON B. KENDALL, | 

ALBERT AUSTIN, | Committee 

TIIADDEUS H. SPENCER, j on 

GAD SHELDON, I i,,iuuions. 

THOMAS J. AUSTIN, [ 

ELIHU S. TAYLOR, J 

SuTfJdd, Conn., Sept. 12, 1870. 





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^Ce^^lyfti?<^ti; 




g^^^A e^iM, 



OF THE 




Town of Suffield, ^^ 

Vv^ednesda^y, October 12tli, 1870. 

1. Forty t>uns will bu fired and (lie liflls of the several eliiirelies rung at 

sunrise. 

2. The jtrocessiou will I'onn ou the East side of the Park, the right of line 

in front of Knox's Hcjtel, at 9 o'eloek A. ]\I., and nuirch around the 
Park to the Cliureh in the following order: 

Drinih Corps. 
Special Police. 
Town Authorities. 
Cominittee of Arrangements. 
Trustees and Teachers of the Connecticut Literary Institu- 
tion, and Teachers of Puhlic Schools. 
Colt's Band. 
President and Vice-Presidents of the Day. 
Reverend Cler<^y. 
Orator and Poet of the Day. 
Governor and Staff of the State, and E.v-Uorernors of 
the State. 
Mayor and Aldermen from Springfield, Mass. 
Citizens from other Towns. 
Citizens of this Town. 

3. Exercises at the First Cong. Church at 10 o'clock A. M. 

4. Collation at the tent, on the Park, at 2 o'clock P. M. 

5. Re union at Second Baptist (nnu'ch, at 7 o'clock P. "SI. There will ))e 

Vocal and Instrumental JMusic. 

€o>. S. B. lii:\I>\I^r, < hicr flai^lial. 

II. JS.. I^OC>J>ll!S. i$. 1% TJJlJKlT'r'. 




I^^'A special train from Hartford to Suflickl, (the first on the Bnuieli Itoad), will 
leave Hartford at 7:15 A. M., on Wednesday, October I'.l. 
9 



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L Wodntisdaij, OottibDiJ 12, 1870. 



I 



VOLUNTARY ON THE ORGAN. J 

"• I 

SINGING BY THE CHOIR. 1 

III. 
STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT, D. W. NORTON, Esq. f£ 

IV. 

INVOCATION BY REV. JOEL MANN. 

V. 

READING THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, BY REV. D. IVES. D. D. 

VI. 
PRAYER, BY REV. D. IVES, D. D. 

VII. 

ORIGINAL HYMN, BY THE CHOIR. 

YIII. 

ADDRESS OF WELCOME, BY REV. WALTER^ BARTON. 

IX. 
RESPONSE BY S. A. LANE, Esq , OF AKRON, OHIO. 

X. 

ODE, BY THE CHOIR. 

XI. 

ADDRESS, P,Y REV. J. L. IIODGE, D. D. 

XII. f 

SINGING, BY THE CHOIR. nk 

XIIL 1 

HISTORICAL ADDRESS, BY JOHN LEWIS, Esq. A 

XIV. J- 

MUSIC, BY THE BAND. T 

t 

POEM, BY REV. S. D. PHELPS, ]X D. Ik 

XVI. ^f- 
ANTIIEM, BY THE CHOIR. Jf 

XVII. X 
BFNEDICTION, BY REV. STEPHEN HARRIS. '% 



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STATEMENT 



|ii-Cfntfnnial Cdrbration of tijc f olun of S^wM), 

OCTOBER 12Tn, 1870, 
BY THE PRESIDENT, D. W. NOETON. 



Ladies and Gentlemen : 

Two hundred and fifty years ago the 6th day of last month, 
our Pilgrim forefathers took their final departure from England 
for America in the Mayflower, a vessel of one hundred and 
eighty tons. The whole number who embarked were one hun- 
dred and one persons. Their Eeverend Pastor, on his knees 
commending them in fervent prayer unto the Lord, intended to 
implore a blessing from Heaven upon the hazardous enterprise. 
He preached a sermon to them from Ezra, 8 : 2L With mutual 
embraces and many tears tliey took leave of one anotlier, which 
proved to be the last leave to many of them. The wnnd being 
fair they went on board, l)at the tide, which stays for no man, 
called them away out of the harbor. After they had enjoyed 
hiir winds for a season they met many contrary winds and fierce 
storms. Their ship was shaken and her upper works very leaky. 
One of the main l)eams of the mid-ship bowed and cracked— 
this was repaired ; they resolved to hold on their voj^age. 

And so after many boisterous storms, in which they could 
bear no sail, they fell in with land called Cape Cod, in November, 
1620. After touching at several points on the shore in a storm 
of snow and rain, the sea very rough, they broke their rudder, 
which was su})plied by two men with a couple of oars. The 
storm increasing as night came on, they broke their mast in three 
pieces, and their sails fell overboard into a grown sea. Like to 



14 

liavc been cast a\\\ay, yet by God's mercy they recovered them- 
selves ; and havhig the flood tide with them, struck into the har- 
])or and got under the lee of a small island, (Clark's Island,) 
finally landed on Forefathers' Rock at Plymouth, December 11, 
1620, 0. S. ; the dense forest before them filled with Indians and 
wild beasts and the stormy ocean behind them, without a shel- 
ter, winter setting in. 

The settlement was immediately beguii by building houses. 
Their work w^ent on slowly. Cold weather, snow and rain hin- 
dered them, subjecting them to great sufferings. Sickness 
diminished their numbers, and a fire consumed their storehouse. 
By March, 1621, only fifty-five remained of their whole number, 
yet they were not discouraged. 

On the 16th of March an Indian walked into town and saluted 
them in broken English with the exclamation, " welcome Eng- 
lisliman." His name was Saraoset, a Sagamore of Monhesan in 
Maine. He had learned some English by intercourse with fishing 
vessels and traders on the coast. The settlers now learned that 
Massasoit, the great sachem in the country, was near with a train 
of sixty men. His visit was friendly, and a treaty was made 
which was observed inviolate for half a century. 

A settlement was made in Weymouth in 1622. Other emi- 
grants came over from time to time, and settled in Charlestown, 
Koxbury, Salem, Dorchester, Ipswich and Newbury. In Sep- 
tember, 1630, the foundation of Boston was laid. At a later 
period some of these settlers found their way through the wilder- 
ness, over hill and dale, mountain and stream, to the beautiful 
valley of the Connecticut, and removed their families thither; 
commenced their settlements in some of the river towns above 
and below us, as Springfield, Hadlej^, Hatfield, Wethersfield, 
Windsor and Hartford ; what was then called Stony-brook, (now 
SufUeld,) being avoided on account of the very heavy timber 
growing upon her soil ; being a dense forest or "a very woody 
place.'' 

This township was purchased of two Indian Sachems for .£30^ 
and in 1670 was granted to Major John Pynchon and others by 
the General Court of Massachusetts. 

Sufiield is situated on an elevation of sandstone, which divides 
the lower valley of the Connecticut into an u]»per and lower 



15 

basin. Tliis ulcvatiou dcpriv^cs Sullickl oi llic alluvial inli'ival 
lands found in those towns above and below us. 

In April, 1670, a petition from sundry of the inhabitants of 
the town of Springfield was presented to the General Court at 
Boston, praying for a grant for a township at Stony-brook or 
Southfield, as this place was then called, (now Suflfield), Tiiat 
petition was referred to a proper committee, who in due time 
made a favorable report to the General Court; and two hundred 
years ago to-da}^, the grant was passed by the General Court at 
Boston for a township at Stony-brook plantation, so called. 

The settlement of the town commenced that year, (1670). 

Two brothers l)y the name of Harmons came here and settled 
about one mile west of High Street, what is now on or near the 
ro'id leading from said High Street to West Suffield. Others 
soon followed ; so that when the town was organized at its first 
general Town Meeting, held on the 9th of March, 1681-2, which 
was convened in accordance with an order of the General Court, 
passed at their session held October 12th, 1681, to organize the 
town, when about eighty proprietors were present to make choice 
of the municipal officers and discharge the committee, they being 
present, who had managed the afihirs of the town from tlie time 
of the grant in 1670. 

But our orators and poets on this occasion will give you a 
good account of the results of that beginning malic here two 
hundred years ago. 

May this day, by the blessing of God, prove to be one of the 
best days ever witnessed by the sons anddaughUrs of Old jStifficId 
and their descendants; and may it long be remembered b}^ the 
generations who succeed us; and will they celebrate the occasiun 
at the end of each succeeding one Imndrtd ijearsl 

Following this, an Invocation by the liev. Joel Mann, and 
reading of the Scriptures, by the Rev. Dwight Iv^es, D. D., 
selections from the first chapter of John and the eleventh of 
Hebrews; followed by Prayer by the same gentleman. Then 
an original hymn was sung by the choir, entitled " Two Hun- 
dred Years A 2:0.'' 



TWO HUNDRED YEARS. 

Composed for the occasion by Rev. S. D. Piielps, D. 1). 



Where now a joyous throng we stand, 

And beauties round us glow, 
Stood a dense forest wild and grand, 

Two hundred years ago. 
How vast the change, from old to new ! 

'Tvvould strike the fathers dumb ; 
But what shall fill the children's view 

Two hundred years to come? 

II. 

What struggles, perils, toils and fears 

They had to brave and know, 
Ere comforts blessed the pioneers, 

Two hundred years ago. 
For varied luxuries we possess, 

They had no thought or room ; 
But what they'll have, O who can guess. 

Two hundred years to come ? 

III. 

The dwelling, dress and style of yore 

Were plain and free from show; 
They spun and wove the things they wore 

Two hundred years ago. 
If flasli and fashion rule the age. 

And mark our progress some, 
Pray, what shall be the rush and rage 

Two hundred years to come ? 
3 



18 

IV. 

The church and school, so simple then, 

Expressed the heart's outflow ; 
Earnest were those strong, thoughtful men 

Two hundred years ago. 
In grander fane and temjile found, 

Refinement's richer home, 
Th' old virtues ?i«;— will they abouku 

Two hundred years to come? 

V. 

Through all the past, life's growing tide 

Has met the one grim foe ; 
Old are the graves of those Who died 

Two hundred years ago. 
We swell the stream whose murmuring rolls 

The cadence of the tomlj ; 
What were our lives, and where our souls, 

Two hundred years to come ? 



ADDRESS OF WELCOME 

By Rev. Walter Baiitox. 



The Executive Comniiltcc have assigned to ine the very })leas- 
ant duty of giving to the returning sons and daughters of Suf- 
field a few words of welcome. It would have been more fitting, 
perhaps, that the address of welcome should come from one who 
had always been a resident of the town. For however much I 
may regret the fact, I must frankly confess that I have not yet 
been able to ascertain whether any or all of " the three brothers," 
to whom, of course, .my pedigree runs back, ever settled in this 
town or not. But being, as I am, very desirous to claim some 
share with 3'ou in the gladness and glory of this great celebration, 
I, of course, am bound to make ni}- connection with you some- 
how. Failing to make any connection with you genealogically, 
I was able to find, on looking up the old records, that I could 
make a connection with you geographically, on this wise: Up 
to the year IT'iO, Suflield was one of the places included in 
IIam}ishirc County, Mass. As I was born in that county I con- 
cluded not to search tlu; records any further, but to consider 
myself born in the same colony and county, in the same pre- 
cinct and on the same plantation with the rest of you. 

To prove that this connection is not a fancied one mercl}^, I 
may take the liberty to say that before Suflield was settled, or 
soon after, in order to keep up communication with Hartford, 
we who lived at the upper end of the plantation, in what is now 
known as Iladley and Northampton, used to have our teams 
drafted to repair the Suflield roads. Sucli instances are on record. 
Ver}'^ likely it was owing to our cutting down the brusli and 
making such good roads, or keeping them in such excellent re- 
pair that you were first induced to settle here. 



20 

Be tliat as it may, I stand liere to welcome to the scenes and 
ceremonies of this Bi-Centennial occasion, and also to the hearts 
and homes of the people, all former residents of the place, and 
all who by any other ties of relationship or friendship are 
specially interested in commemorating Snffield's natal day. 

IIow eminently befitting is it, in this l)nsy and fast age, to 
improve a day like this by reviewing the lives and labors of the 
brave and good who have gone before us ! We have so much 
to do, to care for, to think, read and talk about, in regard to 
what is going on in the wi.de, wide world, that there is great 
danger of our forgetting the past and what is due to it from the 
present. 

The prophet says, " ask man of the days that are past." This 
the orator of the day will hel]) us to do; and surely his review 
of these two centuries will famish to each and to all of us lessons 
for our study, reflection and improvement in all the years to 
come. The occasion in itself is fitted to call forth the ti'uest and 
best sentiments of our nature. 

In ancient times it was customary to lead out the youths of 
royal families to gaze on the monuments of their ancestors, that 
they might thus be inspired to cultivate their virtues and emulate 
their heroism. A still higher authority says, "Tell ye your 
children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their 
children another generation." Wiio has not often read with 
deep interest of the great gatherings and glad memorial days of 
the ancient llebrews ? What a scene must it have been when 
they came up by families and tribes from all parts of Canaan to 
keep the feasts of the Lord at Jerusalem ! IIow well fitted was 
this thrice yearly concourse at Jerusalem to counteract all the 
unsocial tendencies arising from their separation into distinct 
tribes, and to unite them all together as a nation of brethren ! 

It served to prevent all those unpleasant rivalries and jealousies 
which in time might have ripened into hostilities and collisions 
that would have rent their commonwealth in pieces. By being 
brought thus frequently togetlier, the acrpiaintance of families 
and tribes was renewed, all feelings of clanish exclusiveness were 
repressed, and the social union more efl'ectually consolidated. 
Though the chief design of these annual festivals was to per- 
petuate the memory of the great events on which they were 



21 

severally founded, other important ends were doubtless designed 
and seeured by these assemblages. It would bo a weleome res- 
pite from toil. They indulged in innocent hilarity, amusement 
and recreation, 

I don't know whether or not the boys played base ball or tlie 
girls croquet, but I have no doubt they had other amusements 
and recreations as good or better. They not only worshipped; 
they feasted, they sang, and rejoiced together before the Lord. 

And how much better for families, churches and communi- 
ties now, if they had more of these seasons of healthful recrea- 
tion and heartfelt rejoicing ! Is it not well once in a wdiile to 
forget our money-making and our worldly schemes, to forget 
also wdiat particular trade and tribe, sect and party we belong 
to, and remember ourselves and one another as belonging to the 
great family of one common Father in Heaven? 

You gather here to-day, not merely to glorify yourselves or 
your native town, although if you wanted to play the fool in an 
apostolic way, you might even boast yourselves a little, and not 
1)0 thought either proud or vain in so doing. But your chief 
desire is rather to honor yourselves by honoring those who hero, 
so early and so well, laid the foundations of the family, church 
and school, of intelligent society and christian civilization for all 
coming time. 

Ilere " other men labored and ye are entered into their labors." 

To those of you who were born and educated here, a thousand 
hallowed memories will come thronging back to-day, as you look 
once more upon these charming valleys, these dear old hills, and 
the yet dearer faces of familiar friends. 

You will clasp each other by the hand and amid smiles and 
tears cry "old Suffield forever." Tell us if in all your wander- 
ings you have found another Suffield yet? Do you not still 
sing, as you come back to the old homestead, " ' Mid pleasures 
and palaces," etc. ? The present year I have traveled two thous- 
and miles through the Middle and Western States, and last year 
four thousand miles through the South and AVest, but in either 
journey I cannot say that 1 found a town which for fertilitv, 
thrift and beauty, for social and religious privileges would sur- 
pass your own. And others here who have traveled farther than 
that in the East and in the West have said the same. Indeed, 



22 

you who have never left the old homestead cannot appreciate 
the beauty and the blessing of a birth-place in this charming 
valley of the noble Connecticut. 

How often in the years that are past have your thoughts wan- 
dered away to this home of your childhood ! And how happy are 
you to come back and shake hands again with those that still 
remain of your family friends and early companions ! How it 
awakens also the liveliest emotions of gratitude to God, who 
caused the lines to fall to you in such pleasant places and gave 
you so goodly an heritage ! ' Tis true you will look in vain for 
some who by reason of death are not permitted to be with iis on 
this occasion. The names of many who once walked these 
streets, worked in these fields and worshipped in these churches, 
side by side with you, you will read in the different cemeteries 
of the town. 

Bat others have taken their places, and though many of us 
are strangers to you, and many of you are strangers to us, we 
are all one in our sympathies with you and in our greeting to 
you on this memorial day. We all feel greatly honored by your 
presence with us, and we are all alike interested to honor the 
memories of those noble, self-denying, God-fearing men and 
women " who for the glory of God and the advancement of the 
Christian fliith," began the settlement of this place two hundred 
years ago. 

But I must not keep you longer from the good things in store 
for you. I was only appointed to answer your rapping at the 
door of your dear old home, and to say in behalf of the whole 
SufBeld family, "glad to see you, walk in, take off your things, 
sit right down and make yourselves perfectly at home." As I 
cannot shake hands with you all individually, as I should like 
to do, let me ask the resident citizens of Suffield here present to 
rise up and allow me to gather up all their hands into one great 
hand and reach it out, through the hand of this son of Suffield 
from Ohio, to all our guests and say, welcome each, welcome all. 



RESPONSE, 

By S. a. Lane, Esq., of Akron, Ohio. 



Mr. President ; Ladies and Gentlemen :— It is, to me, 
gratifying beyond expression, that I am permitted to participate 
with you in celebrating tlie TWO hundredth anniversary of the 
settlement of this my native town. But it is not quite so grati- 
fying to find myself the sole respondent to the very able and the 
very cordial address of welcome, to the returning wanderers 
which has just been pronounced. 

The honored chairman of your committee, in his kind letter 
of invitation, expressed the desire that in response to said address 
I should give one of my faipilliar talks in regard to my recollections 
of Suffield when I was a boy. To this I assented on the sup- 
position that there were to be several similar responses, and that 
any formal reply to the address would devolve npon other and 
abler speakers than myself Indeed, I lind been informed that 
the names of at least two professional "talkists " had been asso- 
ciated with my own in the performance of the pleasing task 
now by a change in the programme, and by an error of judg- 
ment on the part of the committee, devolved wholly upon my- 
self. Fortunately, however, both for myself and for my audi- 
tors, the limited space of time which I may occupy will render 
my task comparatively easy, and the infliction upon my hearers 
correspondingly light. 

Forty years ago, Mr. President, I left you, a chubby, round 
faced, ruddy-cheeked, dark-haired, black-eyed, and — if tradition 
speaks truly — a iolerahh/ (pod IooIcItkj boy of fifteen years of afc. 
To-day I come back to you a gaunt, sallow- visnged, grizzly- 
headed, dim-sighted old man of lifty-five. 

Forty years! Along period of time, truly, ^ when, with the 
eyes of youth and hope, gazing forward into tlie future. But 
O, how short, when retrospectively considered — but the merest 



2i 

fragment of the countless cycles that form the unnumbered cen- 
turies of the past ! 

Yet as brief a period of time as it in reality is, what great and 
important changes have taken place within those forty years ! 
Events mightier by far, and of vastly greater significance and 
influence upon the interests of civilization and human progress, 
have talvcn place within that brief period than, with perhaps a 
single exception, in the entire one hundred and sixty years, be- 
sides, of the two centuries whose termination you now celebrate. 

Were it proper for me to do so, in this connection, time would 
not permit me to give even the briefest history of all those great 
and grand events. Among them, however, I may pause to men- 
tion the inauguration of the great and ever extending system of 
railways which has wrought such a revolution in the modes of 
travel and transportation in this and other lands ; the application 
of electricity to the jDurposes of telegraphic communication, by 
which not only time and distance have been annihilated, both in 
our own and in foreign countries, but which, spanning and fath- 
oming the ocean, has drawn the two great continents of the earth 
so closely together that the mightiest or the minutest event trans- 
piring in any portion of the one may be known, in detail, through- 
out the length and breadth of the other within the very hour of 
its occurence ; the application of science to agricultural, manu- 
fixcturing and domestic operations, whereby one controlling mind 
can, with nerves of steel and muscles of iron, accomplish vastly 
more labor in a given time, than could formerly be done by hun- 
dreds of the most skillful operatives ; but towering high above 
them all, so far as its influence upon our own development is con- 
cerned, stands the gigantic moral, social and political revolution 
by which four millions of bondsmen have been endowed with 
all the attributes of independent and enfranchised citizens. 

But, Mr. President, I may not enlarge upon these and kindred 
topics so full of interest and of hope to this and the other nations 
of the earth, and will only say, in conclusion, that during the 
entire period of my absence from Old Suffield — whether it may 
seem longer or shorter to my hearers — my mind has ever reverted 
with pleasure to the fond associations of my boyhood, and my 
early recollections of my native town. In all my wanderings, 
having visited nearly every State and Territory now embraced 



25 

within the limits of the United States, the British Possessions 
upon the North, and portions of JNfexico and Central America 
upon the South, besides a nund)cr of ])rominent Islands of both 
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; and though I have seen many 
magnificent cities and beautiful towns, and rural paradises with- 
out number, my bo)diood recollections of Suffield overshadow 
them all in point of loveliness, grandeur and sublimity. And I 
presume I but speak the sentiments of all present, who, like me 
having stra3'ed away from their ancestral homes in early life, are 
here to-day to participate in these anniversary exercises, when I 
say that each recurring visit but seems to highten the coloring of 
those recollections and enhance my reverence for my native 
town. 

Again, Mr. President, both for myself and the large number 
of Sullield-born visitors present, I sincerely thank you for the 
opportunity thus afforded us of joining with you in celebrating 
this important anniversary, and for the Ycry cordial greeting 
wliieh is being extended to us l)y our old friends and neighbors, 
and their worthy descendants and successors, the present intelli- 
gent and enterprising occupants of the truly "sacred soil" of 
dear, deli^-htfid Old Suflield. 



ODE BY THE CHOIR. 




cz^^^^^-c^ej ^y 




^^^^^^^^O^^^-^^, 



ADDRESS, 

By the Rev. J. L. Hodge, D. D. 

Hon. D. W. Norton : Dear Sir : — My own personal ac- 
quaintance with the town of Suffiekl extends only as far back 
as forty years, but from a somewhat intimate knowledge of 
many of its oldest inhabitants, I became familiar wdth much 
that has greatly interested me in its histor3\ 

Suflield has been largely favored of the Lord, not only in its 
natural advantages, but also in the character of its people. They 
may be regarded as an intelligent, thrifty, and religious pop- 
ulation. With clear and decided convictions in reference to 
divine and secular truth, as a community, they have always 
been rcmarkal)ly tolerant of the views held by those ditfering 
from them. 

I was ordained as a pastor in one of the churches there about 
thirty-seven years since.* I heard much of the character and 
excellence of those who had preceded me in the ministry of the 
town, such as the "Gays," father and son, both eminent in their 
day. The two Hastings, also father and son, who, like the 
Gays, did much for the honor and advancement of religion 
among the people. In a later day, there was Morse and Waldo, f 

* First Bajitist Clnirch, on Zion's Hill. 

t Rev. Dauicl Waldo was born in Windham, Conn., Sept. lOtli, 170'J. 
He remained at home on the farm until 1778, when at the age of sixteen he was 
drafted as a soldier fora month's service, durinu; a time of imminent peril at New 
London, and soon after enlisted as a volunteer in the service of the State. Ho 
was captured by the Tories at Horseneck, and carried to New York, Avhere he was 
conlincd in the " Sui;ar House," then the grand depot for prisoners ; but after a 
confinement of two nu^nths was exchanged. Snlise(|uently he resumed his labors 
on the farm, and We next lind him, about the age of 21, commencing study, and grad- 
uated at Yale College in the class of 17S8. He studied Theology with Dr. Hart, 
of Preston, Comi., and was licensed to preach by the association of Windham 
county. May 2l>d, 1792, he was ordained and installed as pastor of the Second 
Congreg.ational Church, (at WestSiillicld,) where he remained until ISO'.). In 1810- 
11 he preached at Cam1)ridgcport, Mass., after wiiich he served as missionary in 
Rhode Island till 1820, then preached a while at Harvard, then settled for twelve 
years at Exeter, Conn. After which he resided in New York, and retired from 



28 

men of might and of mark, wliosc influence for good is yet felt 
in a large degree. 

The Baptists in Connecticut were greatly indebted to Rev. 
Asahael Morse for important services rendered to them in se- 
curing civil advantages, and in the formation of their mission- 
ary organizations. Elder Morse was a great man in every 
sense. His mind was not only of the highest order, but he 
was learned above maii}^ of his day, and one of the most elo- 
quent of preachers. 

A master in biblical intcrjirctation, and in a knowledge of 
divinity he had few equals. AVhcn he engaged in debate upon 
questions relating to civil or religious liberty, he never failed 
to show the " hiding of his power." I question whether any 
town in the flivored State of Connecticut was ever more blessed 
with revivals of religion^ or ever appreciated such gracious vis- 
itations, more than yours. I regret that the pressing duties of 
a large pastorate in this city makes it diflicult for me to give 
you a full report of my remarks made on the occasion of your 
Bi-Centennial in October last. 

Thine ever, 

James L. IIodge. 

any stated charge, occasionally siipplyhii? vacant pulpits. In lS5(j Mr. Waldo, 
then 94 years of age, was elected Chaplain of the House of licpresentatives, dis- 
char<;int; the duties of that position with "general acceptance. 

He died at Syracuse, N. Y., July 30th, 1804, aged 101 years, 10 months, and 20 
days. His mind seemed to operate with a freedom little diminished till the day 
of his death. He died not from the effects of the decay of his physical powers, 
hut from the cHects of a fall — leavinii,- a record bright with jnitriotisni, benevo- 
lence, and holiness of life. — H. M. S. 



SINGING BY THE CHOIK. 




-^ cMtCuk ^^e^^-t>T^ 



PTISTORIGAL ADDRESS, 

By John' Lewis, Esq. 



Mr. PiiESiDEXT, Ladies and Gentlemen : — Wc arc gathered 
here to-day in obedience to the better impulses of our nature. 
We have come, actuated by the love of kindred ; by affection for 
the land of our ancestors and the spot of our birth-place; by 
reverence for the noble, patient, heroic spirits of the past; by 
a deep sense of obligation and gratitude to those through whose 
faithful and devoted lives we are enabled to meet under circum- 
stances so happy and so })ropitious. We have come from diverse 
stations and employments, from multiform and strangely varied 
experiences, from widely distant localities. ]>at we have come 
with a common purpose, with hearts stirred by common emotions 
and united by common ties. Here is the S})ot of our origin. 
About this place cluster the recollections of cliildhood, and tlie 
tender affections that center in home and kindred and friends. 
Here our fathers lived. These places their feet have trod. These 
hills and valleys their eyes have been wont to behold. These 
fertile acres their hands reclaimed from the primitive forest, and 
their brows watered with the sweat of honest toil. Here the}' 
planted the school and the church. Here they laid deep and 
solid the foundations of our present civil i^^ation. And here, in 
the fullness of time, they were gathered, generation after gen- 
eration, unto their fathers, and their bones laid to rest in the soil 
which they had reclaimed from the forest and the savage. And 
now, standing upon this consecrated ground, with all these hal- 
lowed associaticjns round about us, and all these tender memories 
thronging our hearts, can we fail to catch tiie inspiration of the 
hour and the })lace; can wc fail to enter with earnest and devoted 
hearts into the services antl festivities of this occasion? 

But the memorial tributes and rejoicings of this anniversary, 
though prompted by the more tender :md pathetic !itlri1>utes of 



30 

our nature, and responding more especially to the sympathies 
and affections, are not without their practical bearing. We are 
met, not simply to give expression to our feelings of honor and 
gratitude and love, but also to study the lives and characters of 
those who have filted these places during the last two hundred 
years. From this study we may derive a fund of historical ex- 
perience and knowledge, the value of which cannot be questioned. 
For in the lives of all, in business, in morals, in politics, in all 
the avocations and walks of life, there arise emergencies when 
the light of exj^erience is pre-eminently needed ; and this expe- 
rience can be gathered from the study of history. For human 
nature, though it may appear in different circumstances and 
under new modifications, is always the same in its essential ele- 
ments. And all events, of whatever nature or descrijDtion, arc 
governed by the same nndeviating laws of cause and effect. 
Therefore if we would forecast the issue of any particular enter- 
prise or combination of circumstances, or if we would predict 
the course of men in the presence of any particular temptations 
or in any given emergency, we must study human nature and 
the social and material laws of all phenomena as revealed in the 
history of the past. And so the examples of our fathers; their 
successes, their failures, their errors, if rightly understood and 
appreciated, will Ijccomc lamps to our feet in the future that is 
before us. 

Still other benefits that result from occasions like this arc of a 
social and personal nature. Brought together in friendly inter- 
course, are men and women from different sections of our coun- 
try, habituated, it may be, to different climates, to different scenes 
and customs and societies. Eeprescntativos of all the various 
avocations, and of all the contrasts of social position and indi- 
vidual experience, meet here on common ground to compare past 
adventures and to revive old memories. Out of this friendly 
interchange of thoughts and feelings and recollections there 
comes a better social culture, and more liberal and more cosmo- 
politan ideas. And better than all else, these occasions tend to 
br(!athe into the soul a new and more earnest life, to inspire higher 
and nobler purposes, to create moi'e strength and more determi- 
nation to givipple with the great tasks and })roblems of life. 

This is not, tlierefore, a mere holidav on which we have met 



31 

to pass the time in idle enjoyment, but an occasion of deep sig- 
nificance, based on tlie realities of tlic past and reaching forward 
to modify the results of the future, developing influences that 
should warm and inspire every heart, and inv(jlviiig possibilities 
of good whose effects may be felt to the end of time. 



The historian of Sufiield labors under certain intrinsic dis. 
advantages. Especially is this true in the present age, wdien we 
have become so accustomed to grand and startling events. Vie 
have witnessed the conflicts of mighty armies joined in battles 
more terrific than the world has ever seen before. We have 
witnessed the succesful completion of vast industrial enterprises, 
enterprises that revolutionize commerce and modify the thoughts 
of Christendom. We have mingled in the discussion of social and 
political questions of the most vital and absorbing interest. And 
we have become so familiar with these magnificent displays of 
power, and with these intense nervous and intellectual excite- 
ments, that we are in danger of losing our interest in the ordinary 
affairs of life. It is necessary, therefore, to realize at the outset 
that the history of Sufiield will not lead us through a succession 
of these grand events; that its history is not that of a great na- 
tion, controlling millions of men, dealing with vast resources 
and setting on foot mighty armies, but simply the history of a 
iow)i, which, however important and exem})lary as a town, is yet 
only one of many thousand similar subdivisions into which our 
country is distributed, and which can only furnish us events of a 
common character and a history made up of the ordinary every- 
day life of the ordinary men and women of their time. But 
notwithstanding this lack of general interest, the subject |iossesscs 
one great advantage which to us may well compensate for all 
others; it is Uie story o^ our fathers and the histoi-y of our uaiive 



About ten years after the huidiug of the i*ilgiims, in 1(120, 
reports of the great river (.2"onnettieut, of its fertile meadows 



32 

and luxuriant scenery, began to reach the settlements on Massa- 
chusetts Bay. In 1G33 some explorations were made in the val- 
ley, and shortly after the towns of Windsor, Hartford, Spring- 
field and Wethersfield were founded. Prior to the settlement of 
Sufiield, seventeen towns were thus estahlished in the Connec- 
ticut Valley, scattered from the mouth of the river to the north- 
ern part of Massachusetts. These towns were connected by 
rude pathways, threading their devious routes among the hills 
and primitive forests. Two of these pathways traversed Suf 
field, or Stony Brook, as it was then called. One entered the 
town in the northeast, and took its course through Crooked 
Lane and High street to South street, and was known as the 
Springfield road. The other, entering the town in the north- 
west, came down across Hastings' Hill, and united with the 
S[)ringfield road near the north end of South street. From 
South street the two roads united and passed down through 
Windsor to Hartford. 

A bird's-eye view of Stony Brook at this period would reveal 
an almost unbroken forest. The oak and the pine growing 
unmolested for centuries reared their gigantic forms on every 
hand, at once evidence of the fertility of the soil and obstacles 
to its subjugation by the pioneer. Along the border of 
Muddy and Stony brooks would be seen a narrow border of 
meadow-land, probably the only open lands visible in the whole 
landscape. Glimpses might be caught of an occasional traveler 
oi- of some emigrant party pursuing their lonely way between 
the upper and the lower towns on the river. Possibly we might 
discern the wigwam of the Indian and follow his dusky form 
as he stole through the forest in pursuit of game, or loitered 
with his fishing tackle on the banks of our little streams. It is 
doubtful, however, whether the Indian ever formed a permanent 
ai)ode within tlie present limits of our town. The Poquonnocs 
of Windsor, and the Woronnocs of Westficld, seem to have been 
the nearest triljcs. But the Indians laid claim to this territory 
as a part of their hunting ground, and this claim was formally 
extinguished by Mr. Pynchon, of Springfield, to whom th(?y 
deeded the twenty-three thousand acres of Stony Brook for tlu; 
consideration of thirty pounds sterling, or less than one cent per 
acre. From numerous arrow-heads and other relics found here, 



33 

wo know tliat Stony Brook Las been visited l»y tlie Indians, 
but probably tlicy only camo to form temporary encampments, 
or ill transient hunting parties, to pursue for a time the pleasures 
of the chase. 

In the intercourse between the upper and lower towns on the 
river, the territory of Stony Brook was frequently traversed, 
and its natural advantages, together with the apparent fertility 
of its soil, became well known in Springfield, and being a part 
of that town, it was natural that the first movements towards 
its settlement should originate in that place. The first of these 
attempts was made in 1660, when a petition was preferred to the 
General Court at Boston, praying for a grant of land at Stony 
Brook. This petition received a favorable answer, but for some 
reason the enterprise was abandoned. In 1669 the selectmen of 
Springfield assumed authority to form and direct the settlement. 
They made several grants of land, and among others to Samuel 
and Joseph Harmon, who, it is thought, in the followdng sum- 
mer, took up their abode on the ISTorthampton road, in the 
vicinity of the Stony Brook. In the fall of the same year 
(1670), a petition was brought to the October session of the 
General Court at Boston, by citizens of Springfield, asking for 
permission to establish a plantation at "a place called by ye 
name of Stony Riuer." On the 12th day of October, 1670, the 
General Court took this petition into consideration, and granted 
to the petitioners permission to settle there a township, six miles 
square, on condition that in five years they should have twenty 
families settled there, and should at the close of that period 
maintain an able minister. At the same time a committee of 
six, with John Pynchon as chairman, was appointed to manage 
the alfairs of the plantation, and to superintend its settlement. 
This committee met in January, 1671, and adopted a set of 
rules, in accordance with which they should proceed in the dis- 
charge of their functions. It was determined to grant land in 
l)aicels of sixty, fifty, and forty acres, according to the condi- 
tion and rank of the grantee ; and that in all grants there should 
1)0 one acre of meadow to nine of iqdand. It was further de- 
termined to lay out and settle the town in divisions, separated 
by highways twenty rods wide, and to cut these divisions into 
5 



34 

sections by roads eight rods wide. If this plan was ever carried 
out, all trace of it is now lost, and there is nothing in the pres- 
ent aspect of the town to indicate that such a disposition was 
actually made of the lirst settlers. At this meeting of the com- 
mittee, grants of land were made to the following persons : 
Samuel Harmon, Joseph Harmon, Nathaniel Harmon, Zerub- 
babel Fyler, and Robert Old. The grants to Samuel and Joseph 
Harmon were probably confirmations of the land they had pre- 
viously taken up on the Northampton road. Unfortunately, no 
documents have yet been discovered that delinitely state the 
time, place, and circumstances of the first settlement of Suffield. 
We know when the settlement was authorized, when and to 
whom lands were first granted, but this is all. While it is quite 
certain that the Harmons were the pioneers of the town, and 
that they came here in 1670, the exact date of their settlement 
is not known. 

From 1670 to 1674, inelusive, the committee were active in 
advancing the interest of the plantation. Grants of land were 
made to thirty-six persons, the town surveyed, roads laid out, a 
corn and saw mill erected, a common laid out in High street for 
public uses, a lot set apart for the use of the minister, and 
another for educational })urposes. In 1674, also, by a})plication 
to the General Court, the name was changed to Southfield, or 
Suffield, and in that year alone twenty-one grants of land were 
made. Everything indicated that the young settlement was 
prosperous. But the outbreak of King Philip's war, which oc- 
curred in 1675, put a sudden stop to its progress. Those wdio 
had taken up their grants -of land were obliged to remove to 
places of greater security, and Stony Brook was abandoned to 
the wild beast and the savage. A blank of about two years oc- 
curs in the records of the committee, after which, in 1()76, they 
resumed tlieir functions. Probably nearly, if not quite, all of 
the old settlers returned after the war to re-occupy the lands 
they had before taken up and improved. An endeavor was now 
made on the })art of the committee to consolidate the inhabi- 
tants on High and Feather streets, for the convenience of self- 
protection. This design was in a measure accomplished, but the 
fears of the Indians which prompted it proved groundless, for 
tli3re is no evidence and no tradition that they ever in any way 



molested tlic young settlement. The committee, up to January, 
1682, made a, total of one hundred and fourteen grants of land, 
comprising aljout six thousand acres, or one-fourth the entire 
area of the town. In March, 1G82, in comjiliance with an order 
of the General Court, obtained October 12th of the ])revious 
year, the legal voters of the plantation were convened, and the 
toivu of Snifield first orjranizcd. The committee havinc; ful- 
fdled the oflicc to which they were a]ipointed, were now 
discharged, and their authority superseded by that of the 
town. A boanl of five selectmen was elected, consisting 
of Anthony Austin, Samuel Kent, Thomas Remington, 
John ]>arbcr, and Joseph Harmon, The organization was com- 
pleted by the election of other town officers, having essentially 
the same names and functions as at present. At this time there 
were about eighty flimilies in the place, and a jiopulation of 
four or five hundred. A list of thirty-four persons comprised 
the legal voters of the town — a number which included less 
than half of the male adults. But it is to be remembered that 
SuHleld was at this time a part of the Massachusetts Colony, 
where there existed both ecclesiastical and civil restrictions on 
the ballot — restrictions that gave the control of affairs to a small 
minority. I'he most numerous settlers were in High street. 
Here were located tlie Kings, llancliets. Remingtons, Grangers, 
Kents, Nortons, Spencers, and Sikes.- A road leading east 
from Iligh street connected it with Feather street, where lived 
the Burbanks, Ilollydays, Smiths, Trumbulls, and Palmers. In 
South street were the Austins, Risings, and Millers. On the 
western road were the Harmons and Copleys, and in Crooked 
Lane the Taylors, Ilitchcocks, and Coopers, 

Would that we might lift the veil of two centuries and catch 
a glimpse of the pioneer settlement as it was in 1682. There 
were the primitive highwaj's, whose location I have alread}' in- 
dicated. But let not the word linjlnvnys suggest smooth turn- 
pikes bordered by a few rods of grassy meadow, and enclosed 
by substa,ntial i'ences. Think rather of rude pathways winding 
among the stumps and trees, which still occupied the land set 
apart for public travel. Along these pathways were scattered 
the dwellinars of the scttlci-s. These were cabins of the rudest 
architeetnrc, containing for the most part but a single room, 



86 

lighted by one or two small windows, warmed by the huge fire- 
place, and furnished with rude stools, and tables, and shelves, 
and compelled to answer all the various needs of the family. 
Kicks of meadow grass and stooks of corn were carefully reared 
adjacent to the still ruder shelters provided for the cattle. 
Around these comfortless abodes lay a few acres of half cleared 
land, with the charred stumps yet standing and the green copse 
about their roots. And beyond this little clearing, and sur- 
rounding it on every side, lay the dark, threatening forest, rear- 
ing aloft its mighty trunks in defiant grandeur. 

From the organization of the town in 1G82 until 1749, a pe- 
riod of nearly seventy years, there is no event of sufficient pre- 
eminence to serve as a landmark in our histoiy. At the begin- 
ning of this period we behold a few hundred people, dispersed 
in rude cabins, in the midst of a dense forest, with nothing but 
their own strong arms and brave hearts to depend upon. At 
first the settler was fortunate if by dint of hard work he suc- 
ceeded in producing enough for the comfortable subsistence of 
his family and his cattle. And when, after years spent in clear- 
ing land of the heavy forest and preparing it for crops, he was 
enabled to raise a surplus for market, other difliculties had to be 
encountered. Markets were distant and to be reached by a la- 
borious and dangerous journey through almost ])athless forests 
and over bridgcless streams. And when reached, it was more 
than likely that his produce must be exchanged for other com- 
modities instead of the money he so much needed. Thus almost 
every circumstance conspired to increase the difficulties and dis- 
couragements of the early settler, and to keep him in well nigh 
hopeless povert}^ Frequently the inhabitants were compelled 
toi^esort to the General Court and seek relief from the burden 
of taxation. And graciously the General Court listened to their 
prayers, granting sometimes an entire exemption from taxes, and 
sometimes permission to pay them in the produce of their farms. 
The exceeding scarcity of luoney is shown by the number and 
character of its substitutes. Thus, from time to time, corn, rye, 
wheat, oats, barley, flax, turpentine, and even iron were made 
receivable for taxes and passed current in the town. As late as 
1725, it was voted that "ii-on should be accc[)ted as town pay, 



87 

and should pass and be received into tlie town treasury at 
forty shillings per hundred weight." And so the history of this 
period is chiefly made up of the private struggles of each indi- 
vidual who found sufllcient occupation in providing the absolute 
necessaries of life. And yet with patience, and fortitude, and 
Christian zeal they labored on, sustained by the consciousness 
of a noble work, and cheered by the hope of brighter days in 
the future. 

The public business of the town during this period was much 
more varied than at i)rescnt. Besides the ordinaiy superintend- 
ence of civil affairs, the town had charge of the ecclesiastical 
and educational interests of the settlement. Town meetings 
were more frequent than now, and in accordance with the no- 
tions of those days, all who were late or absent were subjected 
to a fine. At these meetings grants of land were made to new 
settlers, disputes between adjoining proprietors composed, the 
enlargement of swine, sheep, geese, and cattle regulated, the ex- 
tirpation of crows, blackbirds, and other supposed pests of the 
farmer encouraged by bounties, and many other curious sub- 
jects legislated on, all of which have long since ceased to be the 
objects of public action on the part of the town. New roads 
Were continually being required by the expanding settlement. 
In 1726 the road to Taintor's Hill was established, and in 1736 
the road over the Mountain. And while our flithers attended 
to the material demands of the growing plantation, and devised 
material ways to promote its prosperity, they were not neglectful 
of its higher interests. Morals, religion, and education, from 
the very beginning of the settlement, received their due share 
of attention. Votes relating to these vital suljectsare scattered 
thickly over the records of the town, and plainly evince the 
dee}) interest which our ancestors felt in the spiritual welfare of 
the people. And no higher testimonial can be given of their 
character than the fact that in the midst of such severe l>h)'S- 
ical draughts upon their energies, and such depressing physical 
wants and burdens, they yet had time and spirit for deliber- 
ations, lal)ors, and sacrifices in behalf of the intellectunl and 
moral welfare of their being. 

In addition to these internal activities, our fathers were also 
careful to assert their I'iuhts a<>ainst tlic encroachments of sur- 



88 

rounding towns. In these early times it was impossible to de- 
termine tlie boundaries of towns or states with much accuracy. 
There existed no correct geographical idea of the country, in- 
struments were much more rude and imperfect, and men less in- 
structed in the science and art of surveying. It is not strange, 
therefore, that adjoining towns ditfered as to the precise location 
of the boundary line between them. From the earliest times 
these difficulties arose between Suffield and the inhabitants of 
Windsor and Simsbury. Mau}^ complaints were made against 
the people of these latter places, on account of depradations 
committed by them in what were claimed to be the forests of 
Suffield. The causes of the different parties were espoused by 
their respective colonics. Although the controversy was car- 
ried on with considerable acrimony at times, and formed the 
subject of many exciting discussions among the people, and of 
some correspondence between the colonies, yet no serious col- 
lision is known to have taken place. A disputed boundary 
question between Suflfteld and Westfield, after much fruitless 
controversy, was finally settled by litigation. A more serious 
difficulty, however, relating to boundaries arose between the two 
colonies of Massachusetts and Connecticut, involving Suffield as 
part of the territory in dispute. It will be remembered that SufRefd 
was settled under direction of the General Court of Massachusetts, 
and by the people of Massachusetts. But within a quarter of a cen- 
tury her right to jurisdiction was questioned. In 1713 the col- 
onies joined in a sui-vc}^ of the line between them, and Sufiield, 
Enfield, Woodstock, and Somers were found to be within the 
chartered limits of Connecticut. But having been settled by 
Massachusetts, and being then under its jurisdiction, it was 
agreed between the colonies, but without consulting the towns 
tliemselves, that they should remain with tlie colony that found- 
ed them, and that Connecticut should receive in lieu thereof a 
tract of land in AVestcrn Massacliusetts. This land was ac- 
cordingly set out to Connecticut, being the territory now mainly 
comprised in the towns of Pelham, Belchertown, and Ware, 
and was subsequently sold and the proceeds given to Yale Col- 
lege. In a few years the dissatisfiiction with this arrangement 
broke out in open measures of denunciation and attack. Tn 
1724 Samuel ^^erry, of Enfield, and John Kent, of Suffield, 



39 

were appointed by their respective towns to draw up a petition 
to the General Assembly of Connecticut, setting forth the in- 
justice and illegality of the agreement under which their chai'- 
tered rights liad been bargained away, and })i-aying that colony 
to receive them under its jurisdiction. Other petitions of sim- 
ilar import, in some of whirh AV^oodstock and Somers also 
united, continued to be presented to the General Assembly of 
Connecticut from time to time. At last, in 1749, that body for- 
mally voted to receive them under its jurisdiction, and prepared 
to maintain their claims in whatsoever forum they should be im- 
pleaded. But Massachusetts, though making some threats of 
an appeal to England, quietly submitted to the choice of the 
towns, and never afterwards made any serious atteni})t to en- 
force its claim. It has been said that these towns, in thus en- 
deavoring to come under the government of Connecticut, were 
inlluenccd sinjply by a mercenary motive; that as Massachu- 
setts had a larger ])ublic debt and imposed larger taxes than 
Comiecticut, they took this way to escape the pecuniary bur- 
dens laid upon them. It is suflicicnt answer to this charge to 
say that the towns took vigorous action on the subject more 
than twenty years before that debt was contracted, and before 
its burden could be felt. Their change of jurisdiction has also 
been stigmatized as a revolt and a secession. Let the facts an- 
swer. The towns were acknowledged by both colonies to be 
within the chartered limits of Connecticut. That charter con- 
ferred upon all the people embraced williin its territorial limits 
equal and common rights and privileges, but did not give to 
one portion of the people power to alienate another portion. 
These towns had, therefore, so far as any power on this conti- 
nent was concerned, an absolute and inalienable right to be un- 
der the government of Connecticut, and any bargain between 
the colonies in violation of that right was utterly void and of 
no elfect. Their claim rested on a substantial foundation, both 
of law and of justice. And while it is true that they had a 
motive in prosecuting their claim, it consisted not in any mer- 
cenary or disloyal feelings, 1)ut in a manly determination to ob- 
tain their rights, and in a laudable desire to enjoy the more lib- 
eral civil franchises which this charter secured to the citizen. 



40 

and of \vhicli llicj were unhiwrally deprived so long as tbey 
were under the government of Massachnsetts. 

Thus for more than three-quarters of a century Suffield was 
to all effects and purposes a part of Massachusetts. This fact 
adds many difficulties to the study of our history, for the rec- 
ords and documents relating to it are scattered over two 
States instead of one. 

The period from 17J:9 until the outbreak of the Revolution 
is chielly distinguished in colonial history by the French 
and Indian wars. Soon after the colonization of this country 
was begun, a struggle arose between France and England for 
supremacy in America. Several wars succeeded each other, in 
which the colonists were obliged to take the brunt of the bur- 
den. To these wars Suffield contributed her proportion of 
troops, and in tliem she was represented by Major General 
Phineas Lyman. lie bore an active and honorable part in the 
various campaigns, and at the final close of the struggle, in 
17()o, he went to England to secure a grant of land for himself 
and other colonial oflicers. Having been successful in his ob- 
ject, he returned to this country in 1772, and soon after died in 
the region of tlie Mississippi, where the grant was located. 
General Lyman represented the town in the legislative assem- 
1)1 ics of Connecticut and Massachusetts, and took a leading part 
in its public business and enterprise, lie was the first of her 
sons who rose to eminence in the country at large, and is de- 
serving of a prominent place in our esteem. 

Tlie close of Mr. Lyman's career marks very nearly the com- 
|)letion of the first century of our history. From two little 
cal)ins on Stony Brook, with their lonely inmates, the town had 
expanded to a population of about two thousand persons, scat- 
tered over its entire area, an<l possessed of a property valuation 
of about sixty thousand pounds sterling. Patience, industry, 
and intelli<2:ence had received their reward. 



About the beginning of the second century of our history 
those dissensions between America and England which led to 
the Revolution began to inflame the po})ular mind. Already 



41 

the lari^c cities were wild with excitement, and jiopukir meetings 
fur deliberation and action were frequent throughout the coun- 
try. A league, known ;is the uon-iinportation agreeiuent, was 
being v^obmtarily entered into by the colonists, in which they 
bound themselves to discontinue the importation of all articles 
not absolutely necessary to life, and united to encourage the do- 
mestic manufacture of all sucli goods as they had been accus- 
tomed to receive fi'om England. In 1770, while this agi-eement 
was before the country, and the excitement over the troul)les 
increasing, our fathers came together to deliberate on the state 
of the country, and to give public expression to their senti- 
ments. Would that we might look in upon that brave assem- 
bly, watch their earnest and determined faces, listen to the out- 
pouring of their patriotism and devotion, and breathe the noble 
spirit that pci'vailed their hearts. But a hundred years lias 
drawn its impenetrable veil over the scenes of that day, and we 
must content ourselves with the final result of their delibera- 
tions. They adopted a series of resolutions abounding with 
patriotic devotion, expressing hearty ap[)roval of the non-im- 
portation agreement, and pledging tliemselves to perform and 
maintain it. The resolutions, in closing, denounce those who 
shall violate the agreement in the following s])irited language : 
"Let the goods of such single souled wreches that llegard noth- 
ing but their own interest, that Cultivate and Endeavour to 
promote the Same in a wa}^ evidentlj'- liuinous to their own 
Country, lie upon their own hands. Let their Crime be their 
jumishmcnt, and Should the Deplorible Event of the Loss of 
American Liberty take place, may themselves be accounted as 
Ignominus, Disgracefull, and Selvish mortals, and unfit for So- 
cieti by Every brave, Noble Patriot and virtuous american, 
and may their Names Descend to the Remotest Posterity with 
all that ignominy and Disrespect they so justly merit and 
Deserve." They also voted to enter these resolutions among 
the records of the town, " as a moniment to be handed Down 
to Posterity wherein they may See and behold how Carefull the 
present Age have bin to ti-ansmit to them the inestimable Pi'ivi- 
leges of Liberty and freedom, and to Excite them to the Like 
Conduct on Similar Occasions." These are their words to pos- 
terity and to us, recorded that we might know how pi-ovident 



42 

they were of our welfai'e. What a contrast between the gath- 
ering of to-day and that of a Ivundred years ago! Now all is 
joy, prosperity, and peace. A\'^e are a constituent part of a 
mighty nation, celebrated for the liberty and beneficence of its 
institutions, and renowned for the intelligence and industry of 
its people. Then dark clouds rolled athwart the heavens, 
threatening danger, and tumult, and war. A frowning and mys- 
terious future lay before the people, into which they were brave- 
ly marching in the path of duty, ignorant of whether it would 
lead them to glory or the grave. They were met on that oc- 
casion to give open and public support to a cause •which, if not 
successful, might end in treason and in death. Oh, the noble 
daring! Oh, the unparalleled devotion and self-sacrifice! Oli, 
the sublime faith in the potency of truth, and justice, and lil)- 
erty that animated and sustained the hearts of our fathers in 
that dark hour of our history. Had they yielded or faltered 
ihen^ who can tell how much we, how mucli humanity, would 
have lost? But they yielded not until faitli was changed to 
victory, and their brows received the crown of immortal honor. 
Such deliberate and universal opposition warned England 
that she must desist from her odious and oppressive policy of 
taxing the colonies without their consent. But, fortunately for 
us and the world, she did not heed the warning, ^fore oppres- 
sive and more insulting measures continued to be enacted by 
the British Parliament, and both parties waxed more and moi'C 
exasperated, and more and more determined upon their re- 
spective lines of action. The Port of Boston was closed, and in 
consequence thousands of persons were thrown out of employ- 
ment and reduced to the extremes of want. This tyrannical 
act roused tlie whole country, embittering the opposition of the 
colonists, and calling forth the loudest denunciations. Again 
our fathers convened, and this time on a day that was soon after 
to become forever memorable in the history of civil liberty — Ji^^^y 
4<A, 1774:. llcsolutions were passed deuounciiig the policy of 
England, and expressing S3'm})athy for the unfortunate people 
of Boston, and a committee was ap[)ointed to raise money for 
the relief of its suffering poor. 

But the time was at hand which should demand something 
more of our fathers than resolutions and charitv. The time 



43 

was at hand when their stamina and patriotism were to be 
tested. The time was at hand when the long contest of words 
between the colonics and the mother country was to issue in 
blood. AVinter passed awa}', and the spring of 1775 was 
ushered in. Tlic trees budding and blossoming under the gen- 
ial influences of the season, the grass springing in the meadows, 
ihe air resonant with the songs of returning birds, and the 
farmer preparing his ground for the reception of the seed, were 
all tokens of joy and of peace. But the beautiful picture is 
dissolved as Lexington sends its dreadful echoes through the 
country. There were messengers galloping in hot haste, and 
alarm-fires burning on the hills. Everywhere there was hurry, 
bustle, and confusion. The husbandman left his jihnv, the 
smith his forge, and the mechanic his workshop. Arms were 
brightcnied, accoutrements improvised, f^irewells spoken, and 
then the face was turned towards Boston. All the avenues to 
the threatened city were Idled with men thronging and converg- 
ing to the seat of war. What now of Sufficld ! A few words 
heading a dingy pay-roll in the library at Hartford are the re- 
corded history of the town in that momentous period : — 
"Mai-chcd from Suirield for relief of Boston in the Lexington 
Alarm, A[)rtl, 177."), Captain Elihu Kent and one hundred and 
fourteen men." The promptness with which this company was 
enlisted and started on its march to Boston eclipses anything 
done by the present generation in the late war. 

The troops which poured into Boston in the uprising imme- 
diately after the battle of Lexington were an unorganized and 
undisciplined mass, enlisted for a few days or weeks, or perhaps 
without any delinitc enlistment at all. They soon returned, 
and their places were su]iplied by new and regular levies. Ac- 
cordingly within a month Captain Kent and his company were 
again in SufheM. In May of the same year, 1775, a second 
company was recruited in Suflleld, under command of Captain 
Oliver llanehctt, who was also first lieutenant of the former 
com[)any. This company consisted of (»ne hundred and three 
men, some of whom re enlisted fi'om Caj)tain Kent's comi)any. 
Ibit making allowances for these re-eidistments, more than a 
hnndi'ed and fiCly men entered the Continental service from 
SiillicM williin a month Ironi the l)altle of Lexington. Captain 



44 

Ilancbet's company rcinaincd about Boston during the summer 
of 1775, and is tliouglit to liave participated in the battle of 
Bunker Hill. In Septenibci" of this year it formed part of an 
expedition against Quebec. Tlie execution of this enterprise 
ref|uired a long and perilous march through the wilderness to 
Canada. At the beginning of the march provisions for forty 
days were distributed to the vaiious companies. In crossing 
streams, and forcing a way through swamps and forests, many 
accidents occurred, and many companies lost a part or the whole 
of their supplies. But it is recorded of Captain Ilanchet that 
by his superior care and skill he preserved the provisions of his 
company from the casualties of the march, and was enabled to 
distribute a part of his supply to other companies, and to miti- 
gate' thereby the extremes of their suffering. It is impossible 
to describe the horrors of that march. For thirty days they 
pursued their fitigning journey, amid cold, and rain, and fam- 
ine, through forests, and swamps, and rivers, burdened with 
their arms and e(|uipments, and tortured by the pangs of hun- 
ger. In a memorial paper to the General Assembl}', the origi- 
nal of which under his own hand is still preserved in the State 
archives. Captain Ilanchet says : " Having arrived before Que- 
bec, in Endeavouring to take that City by Storm and by foitune 
of War, the Memorialist and Most of his Compan}^ wlio Sur- 
vived the Attempt were taken, Made Prisoners, and himself put 
in Irons, and Continued in Captivity until the month of Octo- 
ber, 177G." During this period of captivity he generously ad- 
vanced to his company nearly a thousand dollars in good 
money, and by his timely charity saved them from much 
trouble and privation. These prisoners were subsequently ex- 
changed, and the brave and worthy captain suitably remuner- 
ated l)y the legislature. 

In 177G a company was raised, partly in Snffield and })artly 
in Windsor, by Captain John Harmon, of this town. It con- 
sisted of eighty men, most of whom enlisted fr'om Sunield. 
Tlxis company formed part of the i-cgular Continental army, and 
was probably in the campaign about New York. Here, it will 
be remembered, tlic enemy in the summer of 1776 massed about 
thirty thousand men, with the determination to reduce that city 
to iheii' jtossession. Wo wilhslaiid this powerful foi-ee, Wash- 



45 

in^T^ton had an inferior number of troops, less efTiciently disci- 
plined and provided. To add to the peril of his situation and 
of the cause his little army was constantly being diminished by 
the return of soldiers whose terms of service had expired. In 
this emergenty Washington had recourse to Governor Trum- 
bull, of Connecticut. And in compliance with his requisition, 
and by vote of the General Assembly, all the militia west of 
the Connecticut river were ordered to march forthwith to New 
York. This was in the early part of August, and in the busy 
harvest season ; but notwithstanding this, the call was respond- 
ed to by fourteen regiments, who immediately set out for the 
front. Three companies marched from Sullield, including all 
the militia of the town, and probably nearly every man in the 
place liable to military dut}". Before these troops could return, 
the harvest must be completed and crops gathered for the win- 
ter's supply. Our mothers were adequate to the emergency. 
With hearts torn by the anguish of recent separations, and 
heavy with the dangers of their countrj', they willingl}^ assumed 
the doable labors of the farm and the household, and patiently 
completed the harvest while their husbands, and brothers, and 
sons confronted the enemy in the field. The women of the 
Revolution! What eulogy can exaggerate the importance of 
their services ? Who can estimate the value of their brave and 
encouraging counsels ? Who can tell how much their noble 
and patriotic devotion contributed to the final triumph of the 
cause of their country and of liberty '/ 

Two other companies seem to have been recruited, either 
wholly or in part, from Snffield, for the regular Continental 
army. One was commanded l)y Cnpt. Nathaniel Ponioroy, the 
other b}' Capt. Samuel Granger. Other calls were also made 
upon the militia when sudden emergencies arose and hasty 
levies were to be made. But these numerous and excessive de- 
mands of the army, and these great draughts on the physical 
energies of the people, after four or five 3'ears' exj)erience, be- 
gan to grow wearisome. The rampant enthusiasm of seventy- 
six died away. War was found to be a terrible reality. Its 
dangers and hardships so long and so manfully endured l)cgan 
at last to blunt the ardt)r of the people. Yoluutary eidistmeiits 
became less and less numerous, and liiinlly ceased altogether. 



46 

111 consequence of this, the authorities of the town, in 1780, 
were oLliged to offer liberal bounties to induce volunteers to 
conic forward. These bounties were increased from time to 
time, but proved ineffectual. Finally a committee was a]ipoint- 
cd and authorized to hire recruits sufficient to fill the quota of 
the town, on the best terms they could make. During the year 
from 1780 to 1781, fourteen town meetings were held, nearly 
all of which were specially called to deliberate on measures 
to raise men and money for the war. This fact alcne shows the 
serious straits to which the town was reduced, and the arduous 
efforts necessary to fill its quota of troops. 

The people also suffered the most severe taxation. At this 
period the grand list of the town was about one hundred 
thousand dollars. Before the war began the amount raised to 
defray the ordinary annual expenses of the town was from five 
to seven hundred dollars. But in 1778 a tax of live thousand 
dollars was levied, and in the 3'ear following one of fifteen 
tliousand dollars. AV^e of this generation know something of 
war, and of the extraordinary demands incident thereto. But 
our exertions and sacrifices, when compared with those of our 
fathers in the Bcvolution, become insignificant. Were we called 
upon now to raise two hundred thousand dollars in one year by 
taxation, and to send every able-bodied man into the field, we 
mi<>"ht realize somewhat the travail in which this 2i;reat nation 
was born. 

The total number of troops furnished by Suflield in the Rev- 
olutionary war cannot be exactly ascertained. Judging from 
the imperfect data at command, and including all Mdio served in 
the regular army or militia for whatever period of time, the 
number cannot be placed at less tlian four hundred. Of this 
number thirty-two are known to h;ive lost their lives in the 
struggle. Almost a century has passed away, in which their 
descendants have enjoyed the blessings procured at the cost of 
their blood. A century ! and yet nothing has been done to per- 
petuate tlicir names or to give })ublic expression to our grati 
tudc. 4'!ie country is now at peace, and the town is rich and 
])ros[)erous. We, in greater iirofusion than any ])revious gen- 
eration, are re;iping the precious fniils of their sacrifice. And 
it is to be hoped that at a ilay not far distant an approj)riate 



47 

inonmncnt will arise, oil wliosc imperishable stone shall Ijc en- 
graven, side by side, the names of those who fell in the war to 
establish the independence of onr eonntry, and the names of 
those who, in the late war, fell fightinu; for its j)reservati(in. 



A glance at the industrial hislor)- of Suflleld I'evcals many 
cui'ious and interesting liicts. At one time sliiji-building was 
quite extensively carried on along the river border. Many persons 
are known to have been engaged in it, and many vessels arc 
known to have been launched. But no records remain sullicient 
to indicate the full extent of the business. Considerable cpian- 
titics of iron w^ere annually wrought into a variety of man- 
ufactured })roducts. Nearly all farming utensils, and many of 
the implements required in the niechanical trades, were made 
in the shops of our blacksmiths. And in Boston Neck was 
located an establishment that turned out four or five thousand 
shovels annuall)'. Turpentine was gathered as an article of 
commerce, oil manufactured from the seed of flax, and spirit- 
uous liquors brewed or distilled in large quantities. Salmon, 
as well as shad, were caught in great numbers from the river, 
and were frequently a drug in the market. Many jicrsons em- 
barked their capital in the indigo trade, and went long jour- 
neys through the Southern States to collect the article for com- 
merce. Others engaged in the fur business with an energy and 
scope that reflected credit on the enterprise of the town. In 
our earlier history an inferior quality of earthen-ware was 
made here, and subsequently wooden-ware of various descriji- 
tions was manufactured. We have had cotton-mills and nu- 
merous tanneries. AVe have had carding-mills and fuUins;- 
mills. AYe have been able to boast of saddlers and coopers, of 
tailors and hatters. Once Suffield had her printing-press and pub- 
lished books, papers, and pamphlets. Once the stranger within 
her gates would not have been perplexed to find a house of public 
entertainment, for the time has been when SuHield had ten or 
twelve taverns in active operation. Previous to the last half- 
century every farm-house was a nianufactor}', in wdiich were 
pi'oduced, with laborious and cunning industry, the textile fab- 
rics for the household. In one vcar more than flvc thousand 



48 

yards of woolen cloth were thus manufactured. At the same 
time twenty or twcnty-Hvc thousand pounds of flax were yearly 
required for domestic consumption. 

The more we stud)' the industi'ics of the last century, the 
more evident it l)ecomes that the people were ftir in advance of 
the present century in enterprise and public spirit. Suffield 
was then a business centre for the surrounding country, ranking 
nearly on an equality with Hartford in wealth, population, and 
business activity. Now slie has fallen into comparative insig- 
nilicance. Formerly the capital and energies of licr people were 
so employed as to build up the town and promote the prosperity 
of all its citizens. On the other hand, we now behold that cap- 
ital transferred to distant cities and states, and investC'I in com- 
mercial and l)usiness enterprises that do not develop the town 
or yield any general advantage to our own community. If we 
Iia\e had a reason for this in the past, the long-deferred estab- 
lishment of railroad communication has removed it. And now 
the present generation has the opportunity^ and the means to 
establish successful manufactures and other branches of busi- 
ness that shall start the town in a new career of prosperity. 

Two law schools have at different times been conducted in 
Sullield, one by General Lyman, and one by the Honorable 
Gideon Granger. At these schools many distinguished mem- 
bers of the bar in this and surrounding counties received their 
legal instruction. In the early part of the present century, 
Sullield possessed five practicing lawyers, a circumstance wdiich 
would seem to indicate a high degree of prosperity. 

Sutlicld has given birth to mtlny eminent men. She has pro- 
duced two Postmaster Generals* of the United States, four 
members of Congress, one Major General, one Governor of 
Connecticut, two Governoi's of Vermont, two Governors of 
Pennsylvania, one Governor of Ohio, two Judges of the Su- 
preme Court of Ohio, one Judge of the Supreme Court of Ver- 
mont, and one District Judge of the United States. To-day 
her sons are scattered throughout the country. Many of them 
have achieved substantial success in business or professional 
life, and many of them occupy distinguished positions of re- 

* Sec note at close of this article. 



49 

sponsibilily and trust in tlu; national, state, and municipal gov 
crnincnts of the country. 



Thus fur 1 have endeavored to sketch our outward and ma- 
terial progress from the foundation of the town to the close of 
the last century. And now a brief comparison of the condition 
of our people in the present and in the past, in respect to some 
of the more important elements of life and character, may not 
be uninteresting. 

The most superficial glance at our history shows beyond 
question that in material wealth and comforts, in the develop- 
ment of the powers and resources of nature, in the multiplica- 
tion of mechanical inventions, in facilities of communication 
and travel, in all physical surroundings of whatever nature, we 
have attained a vast superiority over our ancestors. There 
have been great changes and revolutions, and they have resulted 
in an apparent progress. But has thei-e been a real and a true 
progress? Have we attained a nobler develo[)ment of charac- 
ter? Do we live more })erfect and more Christian lives? Do 
we exhibit a higher standai-d of manhood and womanhood ? 
For a progress which does not produce tltese results, which does 
not enlarge, enrich, and ennoble man in the essential and immor- 
tal elements of his nature, is false and delusi ve. Whik^, therefore, 
we have taken such immense strides in the outward and mate- 
rial circumstances of life, it becomes very pertinent for us to 
cnrpiire whether we are also more manly and more womanly, 
whether we are distinguished by a superior moral, religious, and 
intellectual development. To answer these questions will in- 
volve a more critical examination of our history in its bearings 
upon our interior life and character. 

And first a preliminary en(|uiry as to our physical nature. 
The common impression, especially among the older inhabi- 
tants is, that we have sadly degenerated in this respect. Ibit 
this impression, so fir as it is confined to our ekk;rs, may i-eadil}' 
be accounted for. As men grow old thc_y lose sti'cngth, vigor, 
and vivacity. The arm becomes feeble and the step uncertain. 
Feats of agility and strength that were once performed with 
ease, become difiicult or impossible. And in consecpiencc of this 



50 

condition of weakness and imbecilit}', their impressions of the 
world around them are modified and distorted into a conformity 
witli their own individual states and experiences. The change 
which they imagine has taken place in the world without, has 
really taken })lace in themselves. But while this reasoning may 
account for the impressions of old men, it does not definitely 
answer the enquiry we have raised, whether in point of fact we 
have degenerated physically. In respect to direct physical 
power, to mere brute force, we undoubtedly have, lint wdiile 
we admit this against ourselves, the force of the admission is 
destroyed by the following considerations: First, the degree of 
physical power is no measure of physical excellence. A person 
of inferior stature and strength may be just as manly, may ac- 
complish just as extensive and noble results in life, and may as 
completely fulfill the ends of human existence, as if possessed 
of the most gigantic bodily powers. And again we have so de- 
veloped and applied the ])owers and forces of nature, and ren- 
dered them subservient to our interests and obedient to our 
commands, that great physical powers are hardly useful and no 
longer necessary to man. In all departments of industry, in 
agriculture, in the mechanical trades, in manufactures, in com- 
merce, we can, with a given number of men, and in a given 
time, by the aid of modern a})pliances, accomplish vastly greater 
results than could our ancestors a hundred years ago. Every 
day and on every hand we give exhibitions of power wliich 
would fill our fathers with speechless amazement. Great phys- 
ical strength, therefore, we do not need, and. the lack of it is 
not a reproach. In regard to physical endurance and hardi- 
hood, and ability to withstand exposure, privation, and fatigue, 
the experiences of every day around us, and especially the his- 
tory of the late war, prove that we arc fully ecpial if not supe- 
rior to our predecessors. Moreover, in all civilized countries 
the average duration of human life is slowly increasing. There 
is no evidence which indicates that Sufiicld is an exce})tion to 
the general rule. With life prolonged, with erpial bodily en- 
durance, with strength sunicient to meet the demands of our 
present civilization, and with less vital energy absorbed in mus- 
cular growth and activity, we may safely assert that we are 
physically better fitted than wei'c our fathers before us to 



51 

achieve material success iu the world, and far l<ettci' ((ualified to 
gain the higher ends of a true human life. 

I pass next to the subject of education. It will be remem- 
bered that at the very first meeting of the committee appointed 
to superintend tlic affairs of the plantation, held in January, 
1G71, an allotment of forty acres of land was set apart for the 
" Support and maintenance of a School, to continue and be Im- 
jiroved for and to that use forever, without any alienation there- 
from." At the first town meeting of Suflield, held in 1682, a 
Mr. Trowbridge was invited to teach school in Suffield, but 
there is no evidence that he ever came. In 1693 the town 
voted to use its utmost endeavor to procure a schoolmaster " to 
teach children and j'outh to read, write, and cy})her." A lit- 
tle later in the same 3'ear it was decided to locate the school at 
the most convenient place on High street. But it was not until 
May, 1696, twenty-six years after the foundation of tlie town, 
that a school was actually begun. Mr. Anthony Austin, 
though not without some miss^iving, undertook the vocation of 
teacher, receiving a salary of twent\' pounds per year. In 1703 
the first school-house was erected, near the church on the green, 
and the dimensions were twenty feet long, sixteen feet wide, and 
six feet high. In 1740 the school was held in West Suflield, 
such a proportion of the time as its rates bore to the rates of 
the wliole town. Soon after a school was regularly taught in 
the west parish. At this period the schools were under the 
management of the ecclesiastical societies, of which there were 
now two, the east and the west. Under their supervision the 
town was divided into districts, the cast parish in 1763, and the 
west parish somewhat earlier. Reading, writing, and arithmetic 
made up the curriculum of the pioneer schools, but gradually 
one branch after another has been introduced, until now it is 
quite possible to obtain at our common schools what would, in 
the early times, have been regarded as a liberal education. The 
foundation and development of the Connecticut Literary Instr- 
tutiou in the present century has conferred upon Suflield supe- 
rior fiicilities for education and culture. It is possible today to 
obtain a better education within the limits of our own town 
than could have l)een had a century ago at Yale or Harvard. 
There can be no doubt but that the standard of education and 
scholarship exhibited by the present generation is fiir in advance 



52 

of that exhibited in the last centuiy. If a doubt exists, it will 
be dispelled by perusing the documents and records that have 
come down to us from that time. In an examination of one of 
these documents we almost uniforndy observe that there is no 
system in the use of capitals, which are distributed promis- 
cuously over the page, without regard to parts of speech or cm- 
])hasis of words; that no standard of orthography is observed, 
the same word being frequently spelled in a variety of waj's on 
the same page, and words of the same pronunciation, but of dif- 
ferent orthography and import, being often erroneously and 
sometimes absurdly interchanged; and finally, that there are 
most glaring mistakes and deficiencies in grammar and i-hctoric. 
When we consider that these old manuscripts wore many of 
them written by the prominent men of the time, it becomes 
quite impossible to conceive the low degree of culture exhibited 
by the average citizen. But we arc not to suppose that our an- 
cestors were as inferior to us in intellectual power, activity, and 
acumen as they were in the culture derived from schools and 
books. It is certain that our advancement in these respects has 
not kept pace with the multiplication and improvement of our 
facilities, and whether we have advanced at all may be a ques- 
tion — for power, originality, and scope of intellect do not de- 
pend so much upon artificial training as upon the primary con- 
stitution of the individual and the practical experiences of his 
life. But when we consider that we are now better educated, 
that we possess a wider range of llicts and experience, that facts 
excite reflection and reflection reason — when we consider that 
the condition of society is now more favorable to intellectual 
growth by reason of its greater conqiactness and increased fiicil- 
ities of intercommunication — when we consider that less vitality, 
and strength, and time are required to meet the physical de- 
mands of our present mode of life — when we consider these 
circumstances, and many others which might be enumerated, we 
seem warranted in the conclusion that we not only possess now 
more extensive, more varied, and more accurate knowledge, and 
more thorough and moi-e liberal education, but that we also ex- 
hibit more acute and more profound intellectual powers. 

In respect to the comparative state of morals in Snftleld in 
the present and in tlic past, we have very imperfect data from 



53 

wliich t9 judge. But judging from these data, tbc plain con- 
clusion is that in nearly all respects we can show a commenda- 
ble improvement. In the last century intoxicating liquors were 
openly and freely used by the leading men of the place. They 
were accounted as among the necessaries of life. In 17-19, at a 
society meeting, the church voted " that the committee should 
provide lllium, Cyder, and Beer for Raising the new meeting 
house, at their discretion." This vote indicates the state of feel- 
ing on the subject, and is a fair sample of the ancient customs 
in this respect. At all extra occasions where men came to- 
gether for co-operative labor, and in all the severer tasks of the 
farmer and mechanic, spirituous liquors were a matter of course. 
Social gatherings, even of ministers, were not complete without 
their presence. The free and unrestricted use of this dangerous 
beverage produced its natural results. The moral vigor of the 
community was relaxed and tlie moral judgment impaired. In- 
temperance itself was regardeil more as an innocent misfortune 
than as a moral degradation, f )r which the individual is strictly 
accountable. To day, not only do we witness less intemperance, 
but the open use of alcoholic liquors is regai'dcd as a stigma 
and disgrace. 

In business and the business relations of men, there is un- 
doubtedly less of sham and imposition, less of duplicity and 
deception and chicanery, than in any preceding age of our his- 
tory, in proportion to the number and wealth of the inhab- 
itants. And in that higher field of morality, in that morality 
which is positive and aggressive, and which exhibits itself in 
the practice of charity and benevolence, and in the })romotion 
of all good and noble works and enterprises, there arc to-day as 
high an average and as bright examples as any age of the past 
can boast. 

The vices of the [)rescnt day are ever before us, inq)ressing 
themselves on the thoughts and imagination, while those of the 
past are unknown or forgotten. Moreover, when we look back 
over our own lives we shall find that we are inclined to remem- 
ber the good and to forget the bad, to remember the joys and to 
forget the sorrows. And what is true of the individual may be 
true of the race or of a community. As a people, we are ])i()iic 
both to magnif}^ the noble and valiant deeds of our fathers, and 



54 

also to forget or palliate their faults and vices. Our impressions, 
therefore, as to morals and the course they have taken in the 
progress of the town, are not to be trusted. Careful investiga- 
tion is necessary to a safe and correct opinion, and such inves- 
tigation will confirm the view that we arc })rogressing, and are 
progressing in the right direction. 



Passing now to the field of music and art, and to the refine- 
ments and accomplishments of life, we find them to be almost 
entirely the growth of the present century. But our ancestors 
may be pardoned for their deficiencies in this respect. They 
were pioneers in a new world and a ruder age than the present. 
All the tendencies of their situation were towards the develop- 
ment of rude physical characters. Theirs was an unceasing 
and imperative struggle for mere subsistence, without the pos- 
sibility of turning aside to cultivate the amenities of life. 

Music in the early part of our history was alniost totally 
nco-lected. Indeed, the Puritans rcffiirded it with distrust and 
hostility, and would not for many years permit it in religious 
worship. Being neglected, therefore, from lack of opportunity 
and inclination, and distrusted out of principle, it could make 
but slow progress. It is mainly in the last half or quarter of a 
century that it has Ijcen cultivated and promoted in this town. 
Now almost every flxmily has its musical instrument, and 
ahiiost every child has some opportunity for musical instruc- 
tion. Painting and drawing have lately begun to attract at 
tcntion, and Sufiicld has already produced some artists, who 
arc laboring with credit and success. The acquisition of 
all these accomplishments should be iniblicly encouraged, for 
tliey not only minister to the finer attributes of our nature, but 
are of both direct and indirect practical utility. 

In the architecture of i)rivateand public buildings there have 
been great changes. The last century was the period of low 
houses, with large I'ooms, timbered ceilings, high roofs, and 
projecting stories. In their construction and finish the oliject 
sought was not, except in rare instances, to produce a pleasing 
elleet upon the taste and imagination, but simply to secure pro- 
tection from the inclemencies of tlie weather and provide ac- 
commodations foi' |)]iysical living. 



55 

To day we possess private residences and public buildings 
that are an ornament and credit to the town. Every year more 
and more attention is being given to the si}de and linish of pri- 
vate dwellings, and to the character of their sun'oundings and 
appointments. It should be remembered that the object of a 
home is n^'t merely physical comfort, not simply to furnish a 
convenient and safe resort to rest and refresh the Ijody ; it 
should, in its architecture and surroundings, res])ond to the in- 
tellectual and aesthetic qualities of the mind. It should be a 
place where the higher and nobler attributes of man, his im- 
mortal attributes, shall find true expression, and where they shall 
be improved and insjnred. 



In this brief survey of our history, and in this imperfect com- 
parison of the civilization of Suflield in the i)ast with that in 
the present, it has been my aim to })resent the truth. And 
while I have endeavored to give full credit and prominence to 
the noble deeds and sacrilices of our fathers, I have not shrunk 
from exposing their imperfections and vices. And now I thiidv 
we may safely conclude that in all the essential elements of char- 
acter, in all that goes to make np true manhood and woman- 
hood, the present age has attained a decided superiorit3^ But 
in this claim there is no detraction from the merit of our 
fathers, and nothing inconsistent with an obligation to venerate 
their memory. If they could look down upon us to-day, no 
ascriptions of praise from our lips, and no services commemo- 
rative of their lives, would afford them so much })leasure and 
satisfaction as to l)ehold ns, their dcscentlants and their children, 
far advanced beyond the condition in which they lived, to be- 
hold ns prosperous and happy in our outward circumstances, 
and strong, and noble, and upright in character. These are the 
very results for which they labored, the objects for whieh they 
j^rayed, and hoped, and sacriliced. In doul)t and dai'kncss, in 
weariness and peril, in privation and sulfering, our lathers 
})lanted the seed of our present civilization ; in peace and }iros- 
perity, in the midst of all happy, and inspiring, and propitious 
circumstances, we are reaping the glorious I'csults. When I 



56 

think over the first hundreil years of their historj^, of the hard, 
toilsome, rugged lives they lead, hedged in on every side by 
vast and. pathless forests, destitute of all the comforts and refine- 
ments of life, condemned to one unbroken, monotonous routine 
of manual labor, with no books or papers, or intellectual ad- 
vantages, and when I think how freely and bountifully we en- 
joy the fruits of all their hardships, and struggles, and priva- 
tions, tlieir story touches my heart with an infinite pathos, these 
places that were once familiar with their presence are made for- 
ever sacred by the consecration of their lives, and the graves 
wliere their bones are crumbling into dust become shrines where 
my soul goes np to worship, and where my heart ponrs out its 
richest libations. 



But it is littlng f jr us on this occasion to remember that there 
is a present and a future as well as a past. A hundred years from 
to-d:\y we may fairly presume our descendants will be gathered 
on this spot and engaged in similar festivities. The circum- 
stances under wliich they shall meet may depend very much upon 
us. It is possible for ns to be largely instrumental in shaping 
the history of the town for the next century. It is possible, 
also, for us so to live that we shall simply bridge the space from 
one generation to another, exerting no perceptible influence 
and leaving no impress behind ns. During the first forty or 
fifty 3^ears of the present century our 2)eople were too conserva- 
tive. The jiublic spirit of the eighteenth century seemed to 
have dc})artcd, leaving behind a narrow, selfish, short-sighted 
policy that proved fatal to the best interests of the town. For 
forty years the town actuall}^ declined in population, and in the 
ratio of the inciease of wealth. When it was sought to locate 
the United States Armory here, our fathers, by their opposition 
and indifference, defeated the endeavor. When the Hartford 
and Springfield railroad was surveyed through the town, a 
storm of hostility w\as raised that drove it to the other side of 
the river. Had the armory and railroad been secured, as they 
might have been by proper exertion, who can tell how different 



57 

would liave been our history, and how dilleivnl tlie euudilion of 
our meeting liere to-day. It is impossible, as we review the 
past, to suppress a feeling of i)ain and indignation when we 
observe how the town has been robbed of a magnificent his- 
tory. But dismissing all vain regrets and resentments, let us 
turn from the past, which we are powerless to retrieve, to the 
present, which is always ours to im])rove, and to the future, 
whicli is ours to shape and control. Great and unusual oppor- 
tunities are within the grasp of this generation, oj)portunities 
which if rightly improved will inaugurate a new era in our his- 
t(jr_y. Let the errors and shortcomings of our fathers teach 
us wisdom. Let all internal dissensions and jealousies be sac- 
riliced to one united and controlling purpose, to promote the 
welfare of our town. Let a generous public spirit be fostered 
which shall look beyond all merely private and present inter- 
ests to grand results in the future, even in tlie future which we 
shall never live to see. Let us have that sublime faith and pa- 
tience, and devotion, that shall enable us to plant, and labor, 
and sacrifice, when we know that posterity, and posterity o?i/_y, 
can reap the harvest. Let us go from these memorial services 
and labor with such wisdom, such patience, such large-hearted 
and far-reaching purpose for the prosperity of this town and the 
welfare of its people that when all these petty jealousies and 
controversies that now excite us, and all these petty schemes of 
selfish and temporal aggrandizement shall have been buried in 
eternal oblivion, and when all these fortunes which we are la- 
boring so hard to amass shall have been scattered to the winds 
of heaven, our works shall yet survive to benefit and to bless 
the town, and our names 3'et live in the grateful hearts of pos- 
terity, and so that when our descendants shall gather here after 
the lapse of another century, our generation shall be venerated 
as pre-eminent amijng the benefactors of Sulfield. 



ISI OTi:. 

By ul'creucc U> llic bouks of Ihc Auditor's OUiue for the I'ost OUicc Doiiurtiiieiit 
it is usecrtuiued tliat tlie post-office at SuUield began to miike quarterly returus 
oil the 1st of October, 1796, iiud Hezekiuli lluutiiigtou was tlie postmaster. It is 
probable, tlierefore, that the otiiee was established iu August or September of 
tliat year. Since tliat time the iianaes of postnuisters and dates of appointments 
are correctly ascertained, which are as follows : 

SuFFiELU. Estal)lished, probably, in Au.gust, IT'.Ki. 

William Gay, appointed postmaster July JHst, 17US. 

Odiah L. Sheldon', appointed April 25th, ISoo. 

Horace Sheldon, 2d, appointed Feb. 5th, 1841. 

Georj^e A. Loomis, appointed AuL;ust 3'st, 1842. 

Samuel B. Low, appoiuted July 1st, 1850. 

George Williston, appointed May 23d, lS5o. 

David Hale, appointed June 2'Jth, 1861. 

Richard Jobes, apjjointed July 6th, 186U, who is the present Jnciimbt'nt. 

The followin;;- named persons, natives of Sullield, have lieUl ollice as indicated 
in the Post Office Department of the United States : 

Gideon Grangek, Tostmaster General, appointed Nov. 28tli, 1801. 

Francis Granger, Fostmastcr General, Appointed March 0th, 1811. 

Setii Pease, Assistant Postmaster General. 

James Hitchcock, Clerk. 

Harvey Bcstor, Clerk. 

James Pease, Clerk. 

Oliver Phelps, Jr., Clerk, living- in Canandaigua, N. Y. 

Gamaliel Pease, Clerk. 

Chauncey Bestor, Clerk, living in Washington City, D. C. 



I 




^ 




POEM, 

JJV S. D. PlIELl'S, I). 1). 



Two Hundred Yeaks ! -we're in the jiast to diiy. 
Where thought and memory, loudly linueriiin', stray. 
The generations linked to us we trace ; 
As each appears l)ehold them face to face; 
]\ren of the stalwart heart and toiling hand, 
"Women well worthy l)y their side to stand, 
Children the image of their noble sires, 
Whose blood and will the blended virtue fires. 
They wrought how well ! they made the glorious i)ast 
From them the treasure that all time shall last. 

Two hundred years! ah, these are now secure, 

And naught can waste a heritage so sure. 

We speak of fleeting epochs, vanished days. 

As airy nothings or a meteor blaze. 

Not merely shadows we, nor vapors dim — 

The dying echoes of a vesper hymn. 

The Springtime flits, the Summer glories fade, 

Autumnal tints o'er all the fields are laid; 

But the rich harvest grew ; in the warm sun 

It ripened, and was to the garner won. 

Youth's l)l()omiiig years and manhood's stronger day- 
Go like the seasons, Ijut their lessons stay ! 
No past have we, the boon is never ours. 
Till pale and drop the earliest, fairest flowers. 
Our minds take not life's true and deep intent. 
Till from beyond we scan their history spent. 
The pro])lem's solved in sorrow, joy and toil ; 
In these we learn, and gather thence our spoil. 
We lose the time, the bliss and pain it brings. 
To get them back in deeper, nobler things. 
There's our true heritage, and naught can wrest 
Away the glorious past when once possessed ; 
Its precious lessons, its atl'cctions pure 
^N'ill, without change, for cvermoi'e endure. 



GO 

Oh, mourning mother ! the sweet child you gave 
So soon to Heaven, so early to the grave, 
Is yours, a child for ever, through all change 
Of earthly scene, or vast unmeasured range ! 
A parting pang, a past — these were tlie cost 
By -which you keep the tender bloom you lost. 

Two hundred years ! how like a tale that's told 
Each lengthened life on to its limit rolled. 
The words are gone, the very sounds have died. 
But lives the story yet — 'twill e'er abide. 
In "what they were, in noble acts they did. 
The generations past can ne'er be hid. 
Our own they are, because they're liere no more, 
But witli us leave the mantles once they wore. 
The richest wealth, our best emotions felt. 
Arc wisdom, patience, love, that in them dwelt. 
Without the hallowed jjast, O, what were we ? 
We are the fruit of the ancestral tree. 

Upon life's ladder to a higher stage 
Have we ascended in this later age ? 
Built from our manhood, with a better art, 
A grander temple of the human heart ? 
We'll not ignore the steps, moss-grown and grey, 
Nor scorn the scaffolding that falls away. 
As well the lake, from its full crystal bed. 
Disdain the humble streams by which 'tis led. 
The tree, to large and fine 2)i'oportious grown, 
Was nursed by fallen leaves and boughs its own ; 
From its decays a broader verdure springs, 
And richer fruit on every branchlet swings. 
With this great law humanity is rife — 
From ashes beauty and from death comes life. 
In us, through labors, sull'erings, hopes and fears, 
Behold the harvest of two hundred years ! 

The field is beautiful whereon it grew, 

Ei-st Houtltjii'ld called, the time its bounds were new. 

But earlier still it had its Indian names. 

Too rough to place in smooth, poetic frames ; 

Then, as its winding pathways white men took, 

They named the region from its " Stony brook." 

From the " Great River," at its eastern bound, 

It spreads abroad in undulating ground, 

Sweeps the bold range of Talcott Mountain's crest, 

And on tiie Manituck it finds a rest. 



61 

Tlicsc wild .and almost trackless solitudes 

Bore on their bosom tlu^ primeval woods ; 

The sturdy oak, like pillars of the realm, 

Vied wnth the grandeur of the gothic elm ; 

Birch, maple, chestnut, ash, and more like these 

Made the vast army of majestic trees; 

While here and there, along the serried lines, 

Stood, like brave chieftains, tall and tufted pines. 

How fierce the battle when the winter tempest loud 

Swept through the ranks and the stern leaders boAved ! 

No wonder those who early sought a farm 

Should from this mighty legion take alarm, 

And say, as courage failed to enter in, 

"A very woody place and difficult to winne." 

Others, of braver hearts and stronger hands, 

Began the conquest of these forest lands. 

They felled the foe ; they reared their humble homes; 

They knew through patient toil the victory comes. 

Was it from stock thus trained and strong, the fame 

Of Suffield enterprise and people came. 

Known the land over for their Yankee skill. 

Shrewdness of intellect and power of will? 

Or was't because we Iwrdered on the State 

Of Massachusetts, long renowned and great, 

Were held by her for threescore years or more. 

Until at length, all disputations o'er. 

Its wisli and right secured, tlie town was put 

Within the lines of old Connecticut; 

And so its people reached their virtues great, 

The blendetl product of eacli noble State? 

Two hundred years ! and how does Beauty crown 
The whole l)road surface of our lovely town. 
What thrifty farms, and tasteful dwellings fair; 
What well-tilled fields return their harvests rare. 
Look from this hill, or yonder ridge more high, 
Enchanting landscapes meet the gladdened eye ; 
Tlie rising ground, the intervening vales, 
Tlie fruitfnlness that everywhere prevails, 
The crystal streams that thread their way and sing, 
Tlie lingering trees that grateful shadows lling, 
The cheerful homes that speak of wealth ami art. 
And richer treasures of the cultured heart ; 
O happy spot and dear! go where we will, 
This scene of bcautv lives, unrivaled still 1 



62 

Scarce had the settlers liere their cal)ins jilaccd, 

Ere tlie first meeting house tlie common graced. 

Afar, along the ample street each way, 

This huml)le building in the vision lay. 

As nigh the holy hour of worshij) drew, 

"Waved from the roof a flag of crimson hue ; 

It bade them come, the aged and the young, 

And praise their Maker with the heart and tong ic ; 

Not with the equijiage of modern days. 

Not e'en the wagon rude or richer chaise, 

But in pedestrian groujjs who near abide. 

Those from a distance in their saddles ride; 

Nor failed the loving spouse, with willing mind, 

To take a pillion-scat lier lord behind. 

While boys and girls, to hardy lives inured. 

With nimble feet the Sabbath walks endured. 

So for a hundred years these paths they trod, 

And thus together sought the House of God, 

Till generations passed, and others came 

To feel the warmth of the dear altar-flame. 

Till sanctuaries old and strait decayed. 

And others rose in ampler art arrayed. 

After the first they fitly graced the hill 

Crowned by the splendid church this day we fill. 

Beside the third — which often met my eye — 
Before 'twas finished, 'neath the open sky, 
The wondrous Whitefield preached to thousands there 
First on a joiner's bench he knelt in prayer. 
And such the unction and the fervor given. 
He seemed, tradition says, to pierce the heaven ; 
And such the sermon's power that ere he'd done, 
The hearts of many to the Lord were won. 

As passed the y(!ars another order grew. 

And to its humble home adherents drew; 

Then, in an ampler temple o'er the way. 

It flourislied well and is a power to-day. 

These honored churches, ranged each side the street. 

Sing tlu! same songs, the same good news repeat : 

As richest blessings crown them fi-ora above, 

Be tlicy, tliough dilVering still, alike in love. 

Two hundred years! How faitliriilly have wrought 
God's ministers, as precious souls they sought, 







FIRST CHURCH ERECTED IN SUFFIELD, 
About KJSO. 



Exti-act from the Town Records, April G, 16S5:— "That the T<.wnsinei) shall upon ye tiwres' cost 
procure a ladder and ilsoe a red tiagg to hang out for a signe that perions may know the lime 

for asfemblini; tosether." 



63 

From Pastor RufiLLKs,* of tli(! cailicst ("old, 

To those who now the sacred othce hold. 

YouNGi.ovE* is with us still, and no age knows; 

Ivcniains Devotion,* and tlie fervor glows ; 

In long Gay* times, with Ehenezers raised. 

Our Hastings* have been heavenward — God l)c i)iais(Ml ! 

Forgive the tempted pen to pun these names, 

Portraits beloved in memory's sacred frames. 

][ow much is due to them, their toils and prayers, 

'I'he seed they sowed and watched with tears and cares: 

From thence the rieliest fruitage of the past — 

The purest blessings that shall longest last. 

IIow, ill my earliest memories linger yet 

Those holy men my youthful vision met; 

Dear reverend forms and voice of solemn sound ; 

I listened, and was tilled witli awe profound. 

The texts of Waldo,* simple, earnest, clear ; 

Of ]\Iix,* who, oft patlietic, droi^jjed a tear; 

Of MoKSR,* so tender and so warm in heart, 

Are still in mind, nor sliall they ere depart. 

The last was tlie first pastor known to me; 

Oft when a child I sat upon his knee ; 

See now his snowy hair and radiant face, 

As in the pulpit high he took liis place. 

And oft with simple eloquence would tlirilj 

The throng in the old church on Zion's Hill. 

From my small prison, near the center aisle, 

A deep, s(piare pew, I watched him for awhile, 

Then, standing on tlie seat, I twirled the shits. 

Or through them peeked and 2)ranked w ilh iieighlxiring brat^ 

And then I had a curious strong desire 

To see and hear i\\Q j'itcli^jiipe of the choir. 

The leader, with his mystic box in hand. 

Came to the front and took his proper stand, 

liaised the queer instrument and blew his toot. 

That each might catch the key and follow suit. 

No organ, with its soft or thundering tone, 

Led our high praises to the Heavenly Throne; 

'Twas deemed, if not profane, quite out of place, 

And sounding viols were intensely Jxisc. 

I see them— in the gallery front they rise. 

And slightly turn their faces to tlu; skies — 

Young men in Sunday best and AvtsU-kempt hair. 

Maidens' bright cheeks from which the bonnets tiare; 

* Sec Notes at tlie close of the Poem. 



6-4 



Witli earnest heart and nnaitistic voice 
They sang the hymns that made us all rejoice. 
Tliose plaintive tunes, how deep the minor roll 
That thrilled like harps of heaven tlie pensive soul ! 
Born on this soil, as sweet and wierd was one — 
"CV//««" — as music of a dyint^' Swan.* 

The mental culture of the rising youth. 

Their early need of elemental truth 

Impressed our thoughtful fathers, and they laid 

Foundations as they could tlie work to aid : 

Hence tlie free school, and Master Austin f well 

Taught how to read and cypher, write and sjiell. 

The little school-house on the common set, 

The little group that first within it met, 

The simple studies they j^ui'sued or knew. 

The meagie textl)ooks, imattractive, few. 

The treadmill steps to reach the lower hight 

Of Science' hill, so faintly then in sight — 

Ah ! as this olden scene to view is brought, 

Tliink of the change the jiassing years have Avroiight I 

Behold the Public School, its throngs how fair, 

Wliat means of mental wealth and culture there; 

Behold the ampler range in clustered Halls 

F(M' those who list to Learning's higher calls ! 

Two hundred years ! In our review to-day 
Come the vast throngs that lived and passed away. 
Not the mere outward show and form of things. 
We trace life's deeper stream and hidden S2)rings; 
Its earnest thoughts and conflicts, hopes and fears. 
Its holiest loves, its tenderness and tears ; 
The grandest attributes of human souls, 
In what inspires, impels, restrains, controls ; 
In all that manhood seeks of wealth and fame. 
High nobleness of life and stainless name, 
•Pursuits well wortiiy the immortal mind, 
A glorious benediction to mankind. 
Here they appeared and had their day and power. 
Rose in their strength and found their waning hour. 
Some mounds on yonder slope tell where they lie, 
And some in places far that saw them die. 



* Timothy Swan, of Siiffluld, was the composer of "China."' 
t Anthony Austin, lirst Sclioolniaster of tlic Town. 



65 



As tli(! broad acres of a forest decj), 

lieneudi the eye's quick uiululaiinuf sweep, 

TJcvcal, along tlio distant range of sight, 

The grander trees tliat reach a nobler hight, 

And hold awhile the lingering, gladdened gaze, 

To mark their verdant crowns or flowering ]>laze — 

So o'er this track of centuries to-day 

We note the men of master minds and sway. 

Here honors found them in their native town, 

Or elsewhere gave them influence and renown. 

In every conflict for their country's right, 

Foremost they stand in the ensanguined tight; 

Colonial w-ars, and Independence time, 

The later struggle, and the last sublime; 

In all they bore a true and manly part, 

Witli patriot zeal and freedom-loving heart. 

They're found in civil life, law-learned and wise. 

Grasping ^vith strength great questions as they rise, 

Of clear perception and ibrensic power, 

With forecast broad and fitness for the hour ; 

In the high office and the work it brings. 

Called and commissioned by the King of kings; 

On varied fields their faitliful labors blessed. 

Where many souls they led to truth and rest; 

In healing arts, with ready skill and ken ; 

In authorship, and wielding well the |)en. 

Their names, as household words, wouhl I i-econl, 

And mete them out a Avell-deserved reward; 

But time forbids — nor is it needful now, 

Your worthy orator has wreathed each l)row. 

Go back to the last century's closing years, 
Suffield among the rising towns appears, 
A central place, of wide extensive trade. 
Whose enterprise its reputation made. 
Of Hartford, Springfield, 'twas a rival then. 
And equaled them in influential men. 
It had large factories and well sustained, 
And artizans in skillful laljor trained. 
If peddlers made their indigo of clay 
They had to find their market far away. 
It had a Weekly Press, of ample size, 
And editorial talent — 'twould surprise 
You now to scan its files and columns o'er; 
The names, the firms, the advertisements of yore. 
9 



66 

O'er the wide land, for high and liealthful tone, 
" The Impartial Herald'''' was a paper known. 

Dear native town ! liome of my early days, 

I'm glad to find in thee so mueh to praise ; 

So grand a record in the years gone by ; 

So much that meets to-day the grateful eye. 

Thou art not faultless — no, nor free from stain ; 

I would not palliate thy love of gain. 

Nor spare the blind and narrow seltishucss 

That's been a barrier to thy best success. 

A generation since you turned your l^ack 

On that great thoroughfare and iron track. 

Which sought to pass convenient to your dooi-, 

And had prosperity and wealth in store. 

The long repentance of these thirty years, 

In the wee Brancli you've waited for, appears. 

IIow lavish Nature on this ample ground 

Longs that more marks of art and taste be found ; 

Where wealth and culture in profession dwell 

Should public spirit be a living well. 

Too nuich of life's been given to money greed. 

As have your lands to bear the "filthy weed." 

But not severities my lines shall fill ; 

Suffield, " with all thy faults I love thee still." 

Thy children love thee wheresoe'er they stray ; 

Come back to prove their filial hearts to-day. 

Ood bless thee, mother dear of noble sons 

And noble deeds — the present, future one 5 

Be yet the nobler as thy course ai)pears 

Brighter, more bright, through all the coming yeurs ! 



NOTES. 

IlELATrxo TO Tin-: Ministers IIkfeihied to on Page Go. 



Rev. Ben.iamin Ruggles was .the finst pastor in Suffield. The Church (Con- 
gregational) was organized and lie ordained April 26, 1(V.I8. He was born at Kox- 
bury, Mass., August 11, 1G70. His father was John lluggles, and his grandfather, 
of the same name, came from England in 103.5. Benjamin graduated from Jlarvaid 
College in 1093, and two years after came to Sufflcld. He died September 5, 1708, 
O. 8., at the early age of thirty-two. But his brief ministry was one of great use- 
fulness. His wife's death took place a year before his. Her maiden name was 
Mercy Woodbridgc, daughter of Rev. John Woodbridge, of Wethersfield, and 
granddaughter of Gov. William Leete. They left seven children, and many of their 
descendants have filled honorable and useful positions both in Church and State. 

Rev. John Yomngi.ove was the first minister in Sutlleld. He came from 
Massachusetts in 1670 or 1080, and remained until his death, June 3, 1090. Not 
much is known of his previous history, or of the character of his ministry, and it 
is not certain whether he was a college graduate or had ever been ordained. He 
left also seven children, and his widow, Mrs. Surah Younglove, survived him nearly 
twenty years. 

Rev. EiiENEZER Devotion succeeded Mr. Rugglcs in the past(M-al ollice. He 
was ordained June 28, 1710, having already been with the church about a year. 
He was a native, it is supposed, of Dorchester, Mass., and graduated from Harvard 
College in 1707. He died April 11, 1741, at the age of lifty-seven, having been pas- 
tor of the church about thirty-one years. His ministry was very successful, result- 
ing In accessions to the church of three hundred and thirty-four persons, some 
being received every year with one exception. Mr. Devotion was thiice married. 
His two sons, Ebene/.er and John, became ministers of eminence. 

Rev. Erenezer Gay, D. D.,was the next pastor. He was ordained January 13, 
17-13. He was an able divine, and sometimes in conversation showed a vein of 
humor. It is said when he was a candidate for the pastoral olHce, being very slen- 
der at that time, some of the people thought he was too spare, there Avas not 
enough of him, his legs were too small. He met the objection with a sermon from 
the text: "He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man." It was a success, and 
lie was harmoniously settled. His long ministry of over fifty-four years was closetl 
by his death, March 7, 17'.)(J, at the age of seventy-seven. His son. Rev. Ebene/.ek 
Gav, Jr., succeeded him in the pastorate, being ordained March 6, 1793. He was 
a graduate and tutor of Yale College and a tine scholar, and in his early ministrj' a 
popular preacher. His active pastorate continued until December 13, 1820, and he 
was senior pastor until his decease, January 1, 1837, in the seventy-lirstyear of his 
age and the forty-fourth of his ministry. Early in Dr. Gay's pastorate, November 
10, 1743, the Second Congregational Church was organized In the West Parish. 
A few years later, as an incidental result of the "great awakening," others with- 
drew, under the lead of Joseph Hastings, and formed a Separate Church. 

Rev. .losRPii and J()ii>j IIastings, father and son, wi'i-e the lirst Baptist minis- 
ters ill Sullield. A nuiibcr of the Sci)arates liceaine IJaptisls, and the First Baptist 



68 

Cluiroli was constituted in 1700, with Rev. Joseph IIastin<;,s as pastor. It was 
located on Hastinjjs' or Zion's Hill. Rev. John Hastings was ordained as co-pastor 
witli his father in 177.5, and after liis father's deatli in 1785, aged eighty-two, he 
continued in sole charge of the church until his own death, March 17, 1811, at the 
age of sixty-eight. Without a liberal education, he had great mental vigor and 
was an impressive and successful minister of the gospel. 

Rev. Daniel Waldo, a native of Windham and graduate of Yale, was the second 
pastor of the Congregational Church in the West Parish, succeeding Rev. John 
Graham. lie was ordained May 2o, 1792, and resigned his charge after eighteen 
years of service. At later times he visited this people when I heard him preach. 
He died July 30, 1864, lacking hut a few weeks of being one hundred and two years 
old. He was a chaplain in Congress at the age of niaety-tive, and preached his last 
sermon after entering upon his one hundred and second year. 

Rev. J. Mix was the successor of Mr. Waldo at West Suffield, and occasionally 
visited the school which I attended, and preached in the neighborhood. 

Rev. Asahel Morse became pastor of the First Baptist Church as the successor 
of Rev. John Hastings, in 1812. He was the son of Rev. Joshua Morse, and was 
born at New Loudon, (Montville,) November 11, 1771. He preached in various 
plfices, but most of his ministerial life was passed in Suffield. He took consider- 
able interest in political movements, and in 1818 was a member of the convention 
that framed the present Constitution of the State, and drafted the article relating 
to religious liberty. Wlien a child, I remember his frequently coming to my fath- 
er's house, over the mountain, and preaching on a Sabbath or evening. He died 
June 10, ISoti, in his sixty-sixth year. 




i 




i 



APPENDIX. 

[From the Hartford Times, Oct. 15, 1870. J 

SUFFIELD'S BICENTENNIAL. 

The Celebration AVedaesda3% October 12th. 

Procession— Decorations— Toasts— Adduesses— Poem — Music, and 

THE Distinguished Guests. 

Sufficld had on Wednesday, Oetober 12tl), a eeleliralion of the 20()tli 
anniversary of the settlement of that townsliip. The event had been 
looked forward to with pleasure by all the citizens of the town. Invita- 
tions had been issued to many distinguished persons to take part in the 
celebration, and the town appropriated fluids for the proper observance 
of the day. A large tent was erected on the town green— the ladies pre- 
pared their choicest viands. A programme was arranged, comprising a 
procession, firing of guns, and oratorical exercises at one of the churches, 
and every one anticipated a line time. Tlie clerk of the weather was not, 
however, so kindly disposed, and instead of granting a fine, sunshiny, 
autunm day, sent a drizzling, penetrating rain that soaked through 
everybody, and cast a damper ui)on the celebration. It was decided to 
carry out the programme in spite of the storm, and with the exception 
of the rain and mud everything passed off satisfactorily. 

A special train left Hartford at quarter past 7 o'cloek, carrying, among 
others, ex-6ov. Jewell, Gen. Hawley, Dr. Collins Stone, and many other 
distinguished citizens. At Windsor Locks the cars were switched upon 
the new branch road from that point to Sutfield, it being the first train 
over the road. Owing to the failure of the contractors to complete an 
iron bridge, the cars were obliged to stop about half a mile from the de- 
pot, and here carriages were provided for the guests, who were mostly 
cared for liy private citizens of Sufheld. The later trains added con- 
siderably to the numl)er present, and among them came Gov. English and 
))art of his slafi". 

the IMIOCKSSION 

was formed at 9 1-2 o'clock. A special police force lc<l tlie way, fol- 
lowed by the committee of arrangements, trustees and teachers of the 
Connecticut Literary Institute, the tcaclicrs of the public schools, Colt's 
Band of llartlbrd, the president and vice-presidents of the day, the 



70 

clergy, the orator and the poet of the day, ex-Governors Jewell and 
Ilavvley, and citizens in general. The procession proceeded directly to the 
new Congregational church, which was already well tilled, and was 
crowded before the exercises began. 

THE DECORATIONS. 

The church, which is a very beautifid edifice, was recently dedicated. 
It was built at a cost of $72,000, and is very elegantly tinished outside 
and in. A fine-toned organ occupied one end of the sanctuary, the pul- 
pit being in a recess at the opposite end. The wood work is entirely oil 
finished, and the building tastefully frescoed. On this occasion the 
church was made even more beautiful by the profuse display of flowers 
and evergreens, which were tastefully ai'ranged. In the recess of the pul- 
pit was the inscription in large letters : 



: WELCOME, : 

: 1670. 1S70. : 

: SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF SUFFIELl). I 

In front of the pulpit was an arch inscribed ''Welcome," worked in 
vari-colored liowers, and large bouquets and baskets were ^daced at every 
available point. On each side of the pulpit were hung portraits of the 
Revs. Ebenezer Gay, father and son, former pastors of the church. 
These were twined with wreaths of laurel, mingled with ripe grains, 
and in front of each stood large vases tilled with autumn leaves, sheaves 
of wheat and corn and other grain. Long ivy vines were tw'ined around 
the altar lamps. On the communion table stood a small bronze model of 
the forefathers' monument now being erected on Plymouth Rock. It 
stood upon a base of flowers, and on each side were large baskets of fra- 
grant blossoms. 

On the table lay a cane, sent from Minnesota for this occasion. It was 
formerly owned and carried by the Rev. Mr. Younglove, one of the early 
jKistors of the church, and is said to have been Itrought over from Eng- 
land in the IMayllower. 

DISTINGUISHED PERSONS. 

Among those present we noticed, besides Gov. English, ex-Govs. llaw- 
ley and Jewell ; Gen. C. M. Ingersoll ; Rev. Dr. D. Ives, of Suffield ; Rev. 
Dr. Joel Mann, of New Haven, pastor of this church forty years ago ; 
Rev. Dr. S. D. Phelps, of New Haven ; Rev. Walter Barton, pastor of the 
church ; Judge S. A. Lane, of Akron, O. ; Rev. Dr. Collins Stone, of 
Hartford ; Rev. J. L. Hodge, D. D., of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; Hon. John Cot- 
ton Smith, of Sharon; Samuel C. Huntington, Esq., of Hartford ; Mayor 
W. L. Smith, of Springfield. Tliere were also representatives of the Hart- 
ford Tillies and (Jourant^ S2)ringfield RepuliUcan, and Providence Journal. 

THE EXERCISES IN THE CHURCH. 

At 10 o'clock, D. W. Norton, Esq., ])rcsident of the day, announced 
the commencement of the exercises, wliic^h were conducted according to 
the following- 




C coc/ ■^^--cZclc'i^ 



i! 



71 

I'KOfUiAMMK. 

Vdluntary on (lie Oruan. 
Singing' by the Choir. 
Stiiteincnt by tUe President, D. W. Norton, Es(j. 
Invocation, by Rev. Joel Maun. 
Heading tlie Holy Scriptures and Praj^er, by Rev. D. Ives, I). I). 
Original llymii, l>y the Choir. 
Address of Welcome, liy Rev. "Walter Barton. 
Response, by S. A. Lane, Es(|., of Aki-on, O. 
Ode, by the Choir. 
Address, by Rev. J. L. Hodge, D. D. 
Singing, by the Choir. 
Historical AcUhx-ss, by John Lewis, Es(j. 
Music, by the Band. 
Poem, by Rev. S. D. Phelps, D. D. 
Anthem, by the Choir. 
Benediction, by Rev. Stephen Harris. 
IMr. NoKTON said : We meet to celebrate the bi-centennial anniversary 
of the establishment of this town. He referred to the de2)arturc from 
England of our forefathers ; their stormy passage across the ocean; their 
arrival and landing; this was two hundred and fifty years ago; fifty years 
later some of the settlers traveled across the country and settled in the 
Valley of the Connecticut ; the location of Suflield was purchased by 
IMajor John Pynchon, for thirty pounds ; in April, 1G70, Springfield pe- 
titioned for a grant for a township of Stony Brook, as SulHeld used to be 
called, and on tlie 12th of October in that year this grant was passed, and 
the settlement begun, Joseph Harmon and brother being the first settlers ; 
God was with the earlier settlers ; He has been with ns since, and we trust 
His blessing will rest on the exercises of the day. 

The address of welcome by the Rev. AValter Barton was exceedingly 
well adapted to the occasion. After referring to the approjiriateness of 
commemorating the day, in touching language and clotinent terms he re- 
quested all residents of Suflield to rise and extend their liands in welcome 
of their guests; tlien as he said he gathered them all into one great hand 
which he extended to Judge Lane of Ohio, on the i)art of the guests 
present, saying, "Welcome each, welcome all." 

Judge Lane made a short Ijut hapi)y reply. It was forty years ago 
when, he said, if tradition was true, he left the place, a rosy-cheeked, 
1)lack-haired boy of l.'j ; he now returned a sallow, gaunt man, gray- 
liaired and dim-sighted, 55 years of age ; he then referred to the wonder- 
ful changes that had taken place during that time, and of the inarch of 
improvement, and concluded l)y returning thanks on behalf of tlie guests 
for the cordial greeting that was being extended to them. 

The Rev. Dr. Hodge spoke at length upon the religious sentiment of 
Sullield. His address was in plain words, ehxjuently and forcibly deliv- 



72 

(■red, and created a marked impression ; lie thought that God had emi- 
nently privileged Suffield ; the community has come gradually to the aid 
of the churches, and the town had been always on tlie side of God, of 
Clirist, and of salvation. 

THE ORATION. 

The oration of John Lewis, Esq., was a very comprehensive and ex- 
haustive one. Its delivery was necessarily curtaihul on account of its 
length, but it will be published in full in a pamphlet which is to Ije issued 
in commemoration of the occasion. We give the following brief al)stract : 

Samuel and Joseph Harmon were tlie first settlers of Suffield, or Stony 
Brook, as it was then called, and built tlieir caltin in the summer of 1670. 
Their descendants are there to this day. Major General Phineas Lyman, 
of Suffield, distinguished himself in the old French Avar. Singularly 
enough, it was on the Fourth of July^ 1774, that the people of Suffield 
denounced the policy of England, expressed sympathy with Boston, and 
started a subscription for the suftering poor. The old pay-roll in tlie 
State House shows that there " marched from Suffield for the relief of 
Boston, in the Lexington Alarm, April, 1775, Captain Elihu Kent and one 
hundred and fourteen men." More than one hundred and fifty men en- 
tered the service within a month from the alarm. In Sej^tember, 1775, 
Captain Ilanchett's company formed iiart of the expedition against Que- 
bec. He and most of the company were captured, he was jiut in irons, 
and they were kept prisoners till October, 177G. The captain advanced 
a tliousand dollars to his men, which the General Assembly repaid. The 
whole revolutionary record is exceedingly honorable. Thirty-two Suffield 
men certainly, and probably many more, lost their lives in the service. 
Mr. Lewis eloquently advocated the erection of a monument, on Avliich 
should be inscribed the names of these thirty-two, and also of those Avho 
were sacrificed in the war of the rebellion. The changes in industrial 
pursuits from generation to generation are curious. Ship-building was 
once carried on there. Many vessels are known to have been launched, 
but there is no record of them. Turpentine was for a time gathered as 
an article of commerce. When Suffield was a place of much trade, there 
were at one time twelve taverns in the town. Now there is not one. 

The educational and ecclesiastical history of the town is interesting, 
but we are compelled to omit the extracts we had intended to make. The 
pamphlet record of the day's addresses Avill make a valuable addition to 
our libraries of local history. 

THE POEM. 

Or. Phelps was extremely happy in his ])oeni. It abounded in telling 
hits, witticisms, and bits of choice sarcasm. The topics were those nat- 
urally suggested l)y the day and the writer's reminiscences of his boyhood 
in the town. There were many neat and ]j!easant couplets which pro- 
voked laughter and api)lause. 



jjiaiOff.-. 




-^- -^^^^^-y^e^u//^ 




X" N 






'-i^^ 




73 

The exercises were courhidcd l)y an antliciii: 

" Glorious things of tlice arc si)okcii, 
Zion fity of our God," 

and tlie l)eiicdiction. 

IN THE TENT. 

The procession was formed at tlie end of the exercises in the same order 
as in the morning, and marched to a tent erected on the green. Here 
were spread innumerable tables, loaded to bending with the j^rofiision of 
edibles furnished by the liberality of the ladies of Suffield. After all the 
large crowd had partaken, there were more than twelve baskets full, aye, 
Avagons full, left. We have never seen a more li1>cral collation or one bet- 
ter served than this. The ladies themselves honored their guests l)y wait- 
ing on them, and lent on additional charm to the occasion. Colt's Band 
2)crformed a number of choice selections during the repast. 

THE TOASTS. 

Then came the after dinner speeches in response to sentiments read l)y 
the marshal, in the following order : 

1. The President of the United States. Cy Gen. J. R. Ilawley. 

2. The State of Connecticut. By ex-Governor Jewell. 

It had been expected that Governor English would respond to this. 
He arrived at al)out 11 o'clock, accompanied by Adjutant General Inger- 
soU, and heard a portion of the exercises in the church and dined liastil}' 
in the tent, but he was comjielled to leave early in order to take the after- 
noon accommodation train and keej) an appointment in New Haven. 

3. The first settlers, Samuel and Joseph Harmon. One of their de- 
scendants was calletl, but he was not present to respond. 

4. The descendants of the settlers. John Cotton Smith, of Sliaron, 
spoke in response. He is a great grandson of the Rev. Cotton Mather 
Smith, who went from Suffield to Sharon in 1755, and t]\ere preached 
over fifty years, and whose son was Gov. John Cotton Smith. 

5. The citizens of Suffield to-day. By the Rev. Dr. Phelps, some well- 
improvised verses. 

6. The sons and daughters of Sullield. By Francis Rising, Esij., of 
Troy, N. Y. 

7. The churcli an<l the school. By the Rev. Dr. Ives. 

8. The absent sons and daughters. By the Rev. Dr. Hodge. 

9. Springfield, ]\[ass., the mother town. By Mayor Smith, of Spring- 
liehl. 

10. The oldest man in Suffield. By Mr. ApoUos Phelps, eighty-five 
years old, a native and life-long resident of the town, in vigorous health, 
who related some interesting traditions, thougli the noise prevented him 
l>eing generally heard. 

11. The old "porch house" and the "sentinel elms." By the Hon. 
Samuel II. Huntington, of Hartford, who was born in that once well- 

10 



7-i 

known residL-ncc. It win occupied ))y Gen. Washington, on liis visit to 
Sullicld, but it lias disappeared, and with it one of the noble pair of elms 
that stood before it. 

13. Suffield men in business in other States. By iMr. Willis King, a 
prominent and successful merchant of St. Louis. 

At 5 1-3 o'clock the special train brought the Hartford and New Haven 
guests home, Ijut a number remained to jiarticipate in the reunion which 
was held in the Second Baptist Church. At this a number of letters from 
old residents unable to be present was read, and there was a general min- 
gling of congratulations 1)y all present. There was also some fine music, 
vocal and instrumental. 

The young folks enjoyed the late liours of the evening and night, and 
further celebrated the day by dancing at the Town Hall, but at this our 
reporter was unal)le to Ijc present. 

THE OFFICERS OF THE DAY. 

The following were the officers of the day : 

President — D. W. Norton. 

Vice-Presidents — George Fuller, Gad Sheldon, AVarren Lewis, JMillon 
Hathaway, L. U. S. Taylor, Albert Austin. 

Chief Marshal— Qo\. S. B. Kendall. Aids—Y. P. Loomis, 11. A. Loomis, 
John Nooney, B. F. Territt. 

They performed their arduous duties in a very praiscworlliy manner. 

THE MUSIC. 

The music in the church was under the direction of JMr. Ilenry Foster, 
of New Britain, a former resident of Sutlield, who presided at the fine 
organ. The Voluntary was well performed, closing with " Home, Sweet 
Home." The opening anthem was sung l)y a choir of fifteen young 
ladies, in a very pleasing manner. The original hymn we ^^ublish entire. 
It was sung to the tune of " Auld Lang Syne." At the close of Dr. 
llodgc's address an operatic selection, " Night shades no longer," was 
sung by the full choir, in a faultless style. The closing anthem, " Glorious 
things of Thee," etc., was also sung with good efiect. 

We should not forget to say a word of praise for CVdt's Band, whose 
playing was much admired and heartily applauded. 

To conclude, the entire celebration was an exceedingly jjleasant one, 
notwithstanding the unpleasant weather, and all who took part in the ex- 
ercises will long remcml)er the 200th anniversary of Sufiield. 




cM^M^^ii;^.^^ ti^-^ 




A« 



~\ i' 



ztO^ 




'/^r 



[From the Ilurtroril Evi'iiinj;- Post, Oct. l:j, ISTO. ) 

SUFFIELD BICENTENNIAL. 

SuFi^iEiJJ, Wednesday, Octol)er 12, 1870. 

For two linndred years, as the saying goes, SufReld has waited for this 
day, and now it comes with rain and storm, the first of any account in 
many weeks, and seemingly, at least to Builield folks, it comes to spoil the 
enjoyment of this anniversary. The early train from Hartford, a special 
to Suffield, and the first whose whistle ever sounded over her broad fields 
and through her pleasant homes, arrived with quite a delegation about 8 
a. m., finding accommodations in numerous carriages and stages from the 
stopping place to the centre. 

Tlie order of the day was to form a procession at 9 o'clock, with Colt's 
IJand, the Governor and staif, and ex-Governors, together with citizens 
and strangers from al)road, and so proceed to the church, where the exer- 
cises of the day were to be held ; but the rain hindered, altliough it did 
not entirely prevent the procession, which was formed about half past 
nine, and witii music marched to and entered the church— and a beautiful 
church it is, of which few have a correct knowledge, for there is a preva- 
lent idea that being a country place Suflield has no fine churches, but a 
sight of this will disprove all such fancies. Over the altar was this beau- 
tiful nu)tto of cheer to those who had come from afar to this bi-ccnten- 
nial : 

AVclcome. 

1 ()?(). 

Sons and Dnughters ol" Sullirld. 

1870. 

Ill front of and beside the altar ilowers of every hue and sliape, together 
with inniiense baskets of autumn Ilowers, bright and beautiful, gave to- 
ken of the ladies' ever present hand. 

After the immense congregation had ceased to buzz, ISfr. II. A. Foster, 
of New Britain, formerly of the Connecticut Literary Institute, opened 
the day by a voluntary of the OlTertoire in F by Wely, beautiful always, 
but never more so than under the touch of a master. Then followed 
a song, " We Hail Thee," l)y a chorus composed of thirty voices. After- 
ward Daniel W. Norton, Esq., president of the day, madt; a short address, 
prmcipally historical, telling of tlu! trials our fathers endured, of their 
settlement in Suffield under the nauu; of Stony Brook phmtntion, i)in-- 
chased by iSIajor .lolin Pynchon, of Springfield, for £;]0, of the grant of 
Joseph IIarnu)n, October 12, 1670, and the continued growth and pros- 



76 

perity of tlic town. Following this, :ui invocation by the Rev. Joel 
Maun, and reading of the Scriptures by the Ilev. Dr. Ives, selections from 
the first chapter of John and the eleventh of Hebrews, followed by prayer 
by the same gentleman. 

Then an original hymn was sung ])y the choir, entitled "Two Hundred 
Years Ago." This song was composed by tlie poet of tlie occasion, the 
Rev. S. D.Phelps, D. D., of which we give a verse: 

" Wlicrc now a joj'ous throiiu' we stand, 

And beauties round us u'low, 
Stood a dense forest, wild and i^rand, 

Two liundred years ago. 
How vast tliG cliange from old to new, 

'Twould strike tlie fathers dumlj. 
But wliat sluiU fill i\\<S cliildreu's view 

Two liundred years to come." 

The Rev. Walter Barton, in behalf of the town, now Avelconied the 
visitors to Suffield, saying that although he was not a native of the town, 
yet he claimed relationship by land, as Suffield was formerly a part of 
Hampden county, in which lie was born, and he requested all the resi- 
dents of the town to rise, and by their rising he claimed the right and re- 
joiced in the opportunity of clasping hands for them with Mr. S. A. Lane, 
of Akron, Ohio, editor of the Akron Beacon, formerly an old resident, 
bidding him welcome, and through him all the old time citizens who had 
come back to celebrate their birtliday as a town. 

Mr. Lane replied very hajjpily, dwelling upon his_ having left the vil- 
lage forty years ago, a bright-faced, ruddy, clear-eyed lad, and if report 
were true, rather good looking withal, [laughter] going forth to seek his 
fortune in the lar west in those forenoon years of the century. 

Now he came back, lean and lank, gray, and, as they well could see, 
not remarkal)ly handsome, having learned that the old town was truly 
pleasant and dear to him, spite of his long wanderings and heart exile. 

More singing, and then Rev. J. L. Hodge, D. D., of Brooklyn, spoke, 
telling of the loving kindness of God in permitting him to come back 
to his old liome once again. "I came to town forty years ago, lank and 
lean as you please, and as lank in pocket as in l)ody, seeking an education 
for the Christian ministry, and entered a class of which the piesidont of 
the day was an honorable member, subsequently was pastor in the village, 
and now, he said, I am put here to relate interesting matters concerning 
the religious history of the town ; was well acquainted with Parson Gay 
the younger, and knew him always as a devout and Christianlike man. 
I have also known nearly every pastor since my first advent here ; " and 
then the Rev. gentleman told the audience that though not born here, he 
would have been had they consulted hiin — he claimed relationship l)y 
water and spirit, as he was a Baptist. [Laughter.] He was born in 
Aberdeen, Scotland, a laud full of grand revivals and true gospel in- 
fluence. 



When he dieil he hud ordrred the next, l)Cst thini;- to bciiiy l)orn here to 
l>e done, and thut was tliat he sliouhl ])c buried here, and have a tomb- 
stone of Aberdeen granite to mark liis resting phice. After a further dis- 
cussion of other topics connected witli his su1)ject, the Rev. Dr. sat down 
amid mucli appUiuse. Tlien the chorus rendered in splendid style, 
" Night Shades no Longer," from the oratorio of " Moses in Egypt." 

The orator of the day, Mr. John Lewis, a graduate of the Connecticut 
Literary Institute in 1864, of Yale in 1868, and now a practising member 
of the Hartford bar, was introduced, and for more than an hour held the 
vast audience by thoughts of his finely wrought and higlily polished dis- 
course. Relating various historical facts about the town — many new and 
pleasing ones, too — he said : " The history of our town is not without its 
practical bearing — we have met to study the lives and characters of those 
who have lived here the past two hundred years ; and surely there must 
be a practical benefit to each one of us arising from such an insight; and 
yet," he said, " it is necessary to realize that Suflield is only a town and 
not a great nation, while we pursue the search into her past life;," a fact 
which some of the speakers seemed to lose sight of. The history of the 
town from its first charter in 1670 to the present day was given even in 
the most minute particular. lie related the indignities and wrongs wliich 
she suffered in l)eiug annexed at one time to Massachusetts, and also told 
of her valiant i)art in the great wars of the Revolution, when she fui'- 
nished four hundred men, of whom thirty-two were killed, and liow the 
first school house was built in 1703, and of the first master thereof, Ped- 
agogue Austin. It is also wonderful to remark the changes in the bus- 
iness haljits of the town, as portrayed l)y the orator from a thriving man- 
ufacturing town in 1770, to a quiet farming village in 1870. Then she 
had lawyers, a newspaper, two law schools, a dozen hotels, and everything 
was full of life ; to-day how dead ! The first town meeting was held in 
108:), at which selectmen were elected. Suflield has given birtli to two 
Postmaster Generals, four members of Congress, one Major General, one 
Governor of Connecticut, one of Vermont, two of Pennsylvania, one of 
Ohio, and various men who fill our judges' benches well and accei)tably. 
The speaker was frequently applauded, especially when advocating the 
erection of a soldiers' monument. 

At the conclusion of the address the band played the piece called the 
" Hermit's Bell," in which a cornet solo was finely given. 

Dr. S. D. Phelps, of New Haven, the poet, for a brief space gave the 
audience the outflow of his ever ready ])oetic talent. Touching with 
loving hand the days dead and past, calling up by his word painting 
sweet memories of scenes and seasons in our youth. 

Ilis idea of what a newsi)aper might be, or should be, if you please, 
was given in the following lines, describing Sullield's wrrUly p.ipiT: 

" Go back to tlic last ct'iitury's closiuij years, 
Suflield anioui^ the risiui? towns apjicars, 
A central place of wide, extensive trade. 



78 

Whose enterprise its reputation made ; 

Of Hartford, Springfield, 'twas arivaltlien. 

And equaled them in inlluential men. 

It had a weekly press of ample size 

And editorial talent; 'twould surprise 

You now to scan its files and columns o'er ; 

The names, the firms, tlie advertisements of j'orc, 

O'er the wide land, for hinii and liealthful tone, 

The ' Impartial Herald' was a paper known." 

Tlicn there was a scene in the old cliurcli — one of Suffield a lumdred 
years ago, and of their prevailing vice as a people — too much tohacco 
raising, he gently warned them. Tlieir long delay in Iniilding a railroad 
he joked them about in this wise : 

" The Ions; repentance of these thirty j'ears, 
In the wee branch you've waited for appears." 

After the Gloria from Mozart's 12th Mass, by the chorus, tlie exercises 
in the cliurch ended with the Ijenediction by the Rev. S. Harris. 

" FALL IN FOR RATIONS." 

From the church to the great tent on the Park w^as an easy change, and 
very agreeable to many of the visitors, especially your correspondent, who 
from personal experience can testify to the abundance of everything in the 
line of eatables, furnished by the ladies of this grand old town. " Suf- 
field ladies never do things ))y halves." 

After dinner the vast audience of 2,500 having been somewhat (juietod, 
Col. S. B. Kendall, marshal of the day, proposed the following toasts and 
called the respondents. 

1. The President. 

Responded to by Gen. J. R. Ilawley. 

2. The State of Connecticut. 

By Ex-Gov. Jewell, as Gov. English had left town for the puri)Osc of 
keeping an engagement in New Haven. Gov. Jewell in his remarks said, 
"that as 'twas the t;xshion to claim relationship to Suflield, one having 
done so by land and another by water, he could claim it by ,;?/r — as he 
had suffered all the tortures of the lost, trying to smoke their " partic- 
ular" seed-leaf (laughter) and he thought himself entitled to his claim." 

3. The First Settlers, Samuel and Josepii Harmon. 

4. Tlie Descendants of the Settk>rs. 

By John Cotton Smith, of Sluiron, a great grandson of Cotton iMathcr 
Smith. 

5. The Citizens of Suflield to-day. 

By Dr. Phelps, in some very ai)pro])riate and well timed verses. 
G, The Sons and Daughters of SulHcid. 
By Francis Rising, of Troy, N. Y. 
7. The Church and the School. 
By the Rey. Dr. Ives. 





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79 

8. The absent Sons aiul Daughters. 

By the Rev. Dr. Iloclgc, who, as usual, brouglit the au'liiu'c into tlic 
best of humoi- before he had spoken a (h)/.en woids. 

1). Springfiekl, the Mother Town. 

By Mayor Smith, who claimed to be the grandfather of their town, be- 
cause he was the father of Springtield, and she was the mother of Sulheld. 
(Cheers and laughter.) 

10. The Oldest Man in Suffield. 

By ApoHos Phelps, a native of the place, now eighty live years old. 
Too indistinct to be heard. 

11. The old "Porch House" and the " Sentinel Elms."' 
By the Hon. Samuel IIuntingt(m, of Ilartl'oid. 

13. Suffield Men in business in other States. 

By the Hon. Willis King, who left town for Missouri forty years ago. 
The Star Spangled Banner was played by the l)and, and then the mul- 
titude dispersed to their homes. 

REUNEON IN THE EVENIX(i. 

In the evening the same large and enthusiastic audience convened in 
the 2d Baptist Cliurch, and for two hours listened to toasts and spceclics 
— all appropriate, and some witty. The toast to the Connecticut Lit- 
erary Institute was resi)()nded to by Rev. Mr. Andrews, principal of the 
school. A very clear, forcible speaker, but space and time forbid our 
making any detailed report. There was a sentiment wliicli included the 
" Lavvton'' Ijlackberry, but your correspondent was unable to hear it all. 
Mr. Barton proposed an impromi)tu toast as follows: "Our Suffield rail- 
road and the arrival of the first train — two hundred years in coming, but 
better late than never."' 

A verse of "Home, Sweet Home"' was sung by the chorus, and with a 
few more remarks from strangers, and any orm wlio wislied to sj)eak, the 
meeting adjourned after singing the Doxology, "Praise God from Whom 
all Blessings Flow." 

Thus ended the great anniversary of Suffield's l)irth. AVith her new 
highway to the outer world opened she has a grand future before her, and 
if the spirit Avhich turned the railroad from her and prevented the arsenal 
from being located within her borders thirty years ago be dead, there is 
no hindrance to her advancement. 

The cost of the bi-centennial was $o,000. Through the elVorts of 
Simon B, Kendall, who was a member of the last legislature, an enabling 
act was passed, allowing the town to lay a tax sufficient to raise $1,500 
for this celebration, and the balance necessary was collected by subscri])- 
tion. To Colonel Kendall too much praise cannot be given for his val- 
ualjle and untiring labors before and throughout all the exercises. Jbmor 
to whom honor is due. 



[From the Sumiiut County (Oliiu) Beacon, Oct. 2G, 1870.] 

A VISIT TO THE OLD NATIVE TOWN BI-CEN- 
TENNIAL CELEBRATION. 

INTERESTING EXERCISES. 

Deaii Oij) S.vnctum: A visit to one's iKitive town, after long years of 
absence, is always interesting, and doubly so on a special invitation to 
particiijate in tlie celebration of an important anniversary connected with 
its origin and early history. 

The occasion of my present visit to New England was the celebration 
of the two hundredth anniversary of the settlement of the township of 
Sufheld, in the county of Ilai'tford and State of Connecticut, which oc- 
curred on Wednesday, October 12th. 

The town is situated upon the Avest bank of the Connecticut river, 
eighteen miles north of the city of Hartford, and adjoining the Massa- 
chusetts line. It is one of the very loveliest of the many beautiful towns 
in the sjjlendid valley in which it is situated. Its fertile and carefully 
cuitivatetl farms, its broad and neatly kept streets, its tine roads, its mag- 
nificent residences, its superb chun'hcs, its commodious educational struc- 
tures, all evince a high degree of culture and prosperity. 

On the twelfth day of October, 1070, the General Court of IMassachu- 
setts, at Boston, authorized the settlement of the " jjlantation " — a tract 
of land six miles square — which was afterwards organized as the town- 
ship of " South Fields,'' and subsequently changed to the more compact 
and euphoneous name of Suffield. And it was to aid in properly ol)serv- 
ing its bi-centennial that the absent sons and daughters of the old town 
were invited to revisit their ancient home. By a vote of the town the 
sum of $1,500 was appro2)riated to defray the expenses of the celebration. 
In addition to this the good ladies of the entire town vied with each other 
in providing edibles for the public feast that was to be given to the re- 
turning wanderers, and in extending tlieir hospitality to all visitors, 
whetlier native born or not. 

Besides two large church edifices — Congregational and Baptist— in 
which to conduct the exercises, a large tent capable of covering four or 
five thousand persons had Ijeen jjrocured from Boston and erected upon 
the beautiful Central Park of the village. Unfortunately for the com- 
l)lete success and joyousucss of the occasion, a drenching rain set in on 
the evening of the nth and continued until afternoon on the day of 
the celebration. This undoubtedly kv\)t many hundreds of people from 
neighboring towns from attending. But yet, as stormy as it Avas, there 





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81 

were probably 4,000 pcoitle present, anioiiL!,- whom were niuny distintriiislu'd 
men, natives or (U'scendants of former residents of Builiekl from distant 
States, as well as a lar^e mnuln'r of tlie dignitaries of Connecticut and 
Massacluxsetts. Amoni^' tlie latter were Gov. Englisli and members of his 
stair, and cx-Governors llawley and Jewell, of Hartford, and Mayor 
Smith, of Springfield. 

The day was nshcred in by a salute of forty guns and the ringing of the 
church bells of tlu; town. For the lirst time, to bring in its illustrious 
guests, the cars ran into the lownship over its new railroad, a Ijrancli of 
the Hartford, New Haven and Springfield railway, on the aus])icious, or 
rather inaus2)icious morning. The intended grand cavalcade, i)rocession, 
and march, owing to the rain, was but a partial success, though the in- 
vited guests, officers of the day, speakers, etc., were escorted l)y Colt's 
Armory Band, of Hartford, from the rendezvous opposite to the Congre- 
gational church upon tim west side of the Park. Every portion of the 
hirge house, including the capacious gallery, was densely packed with an 
intensely interesting and expectant audience. The church was finely deco- 
rated with fiowers and (ivergreens and appropriate mottoes. 

The exercises consisted of, first, a voluntary upon the magnificent organ 
of the church ; second, singing by the choir; third, a statement in regard 
to settlenu'nt of the town and the object of the celebration, by Hon. Daniel 
W. Norton, of SuUield, president of the day; fourth. Invocation by Kev. 
Joel Maun, of New Haven, pastor of the Congregational church of Suf- 
field nearly tifty years ago ; fifth, reading of the Scriptures and prayer, by 
Rev. T)r. D.Ives, pastor of the Baptist church of SuUield; sixth, original 
hymn l)y the choir; seventh, Address of Welcome Ijy liev. Walter Bar- 
ton, pastor of the Congregational church of Suffiehl ; eighth, response to 
address of welcome, I)y S. A. Lane, editor of the Akron Daily Beacon, 
Akron, Ohio; ninth, ode by choir; tenth, address — church history of the 
town of Suffield— by Rev. J. S. Hodge, D. D., of Brooklyn, N. Y. ; elev( nth, 
singing by the choir ; twelfth, historical address of the town of Sutlield, 
by John Lewis, Esq., of Hartford ; thirteenth, music by Colt's Armory 
Band ; fourteenth, original poem, l)y Rev. S. D. Phel])s, D. 1),, of New 
Haven; fifteenth, anthem by the choir; sixteenth, benediction, by Rev. 
Stei)lien Harris, of West Suffield. 

These exercises occujiied nearly four hours, eliciting the undivided at- 
tention of the large audience, and very frcciuent and very enthusiastic aji- 
plause. At their close, at 2 o'clock p. m., the audience repaired to tlie big 
tent, uniler which was served one of the finest collations that I have ever 
seen. At the close of the gustatory exercises, in response to appropriate 
sentiments, speeches were nnide l)y ex-Gov. Hawley and ex-Gov. Jewell, 
of Hartford ; Hon. John Cotton Smith, of Sharon, Conn., a great-grand- 
son of Rev. (;otton Mather Smith, a resident of Sufiield up to 175.') ; Rev. 
Dr. S. D. Phelps, of New Haven ; Francis Rising, Es(|., of Troy, N. Y. ; 
Rev. Dr. Ives, of Suffield ; Rev. Dr. Hodge, of New Haven; jMavor Smith, of 
11 



82 

Spriiiglit'ld; Mr. ApuUos Pliulps, 85 years of age, tlie oklest native Ixtni, 
life-long resident in Suffield; Hon, Samuel Huntington, of Hartford, 
and Hon. Willis King, a prominent merchant of St. Louis. 

During the after-dinner exercises, the weather came off bright and beau- 
tiful, and the large throng sejiarated in the best of spirits, eacli and all 
feeling that notwithstanding the storm the Suffield bicentennial liad been 
a magnificent success. 

In the evening a large audience assembled at the Baptist church, where 
the remainder of the sentiments which had been prepared were read and 
appropriately responded to, and many intej-esting reminiscences related 
by visitors, jjoth native and otherwise, the writer of this getting in a few 
words upon the railroad question, exhorting the peojile of old Suffield to 
extend their new branch road through the town, so that visitors can get 
out of the town upon the north as well as tlie soutli. 

In the evening, also, the young people of the town had a social dance 
at the town hall, which is represented as ))eing altogether a lively and 
pleasant affiiir, and thus ended one of the most important celebrations 
and reunions that it has ever been my good fortune to attend. 

S. A. L. 

Suffield, Conn., Oct. 14, 1870. 




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SENTIMENTS AND RESPONSES. 

The Frcsiaeiit of tlic Uiiitutl States. 

By J. R. Ilawley. 

Tlie Governor of the State of Conneclieut. 

By ex-Gov. Jewell. 

The State of Connecticut — the "nutmet;;" Slate— tliesi)icc of New England — 
noted for her industrial, agricultural, and nianufacturiiii;- interests, its prosperity 
in banks and insurance companies. 

By ex-Gov. Jewell. 

Tlie ex Governors of the State of Conneclieut. No Stale can show lnigliter 
Jewels than ours. 

By ex-Gov. Jewell. 

The first Settlers of SufheUl, Samuel and Joseph Harmon, and their Associates. 
Tliey came here tlirough the wiklerness in faitli, they labored liere witli patience, 
they rested in hope. What wc are to-day is the reaiilt of tlieir labors. 

By Israel Harmon, Esq., a descendant. 

Mr. President: Americans are a proud i)eoi)lc, and justly so. To he 
able to say our in connection with the w^orld's only republic that has real- 
ized the hopes of the oppressed and the theories of philanthropists, is a 
source of pride higher than Roman orator or Athenian philosopher could 
ever glory in. 

Natives of SufReld are a proud people, and to-day as they view its re- 
ligious and educational institutions, its thrift and prosperity, its patriotic 
record, who shall say their jiride is not justifiable ? 

The Harmons are this day proud — proud of this town, jilanted l)y i/itir 
ancestors through toil, sutfering, and peril, and which to-day is without a 
superior in this our favored land. They are proud of their descendants, 
who liavc never furnished law-breakers for jails or prisons, but have well 
filled all positions in the gift of their townsmen, in religious, educational, 
masonic, and political organizati(ms, and furnished judges and other 
othcers for Ohio and other States. 

I, one of the youngest of the Harmons, in the light of legend, tradi- 
tion, history, look back through centuries to the time when S.vmi'el and 
Joseph Harmon, about one mile west from where we now stand, first 
formed their rude habitations, laid tribute on the virgin soil, and made a 
nucleus around which, and from which, originated Suffiei.d, Connecti- 
cut's lirightest jewel. Fellow-citizens, look at your fertile fields, your 



84 

Ijcneiiccnt institutions and liappy lionies, and l)e convinced tliat those first 
settlers did more for tlie good "f tlic human race than did the first great 
Napoleon. 

Have we of to-day no duties to perfcn-ni i Do not tlie prayers, toils, 
perils of our forefathers, the prosperity of the past, the result of 
tlieir lal)ors, call upon us, vvitli earnest voice, never to prove recre- 
ant to our great privileges and responsibilities? Do they not more 
tlirillingly than 1)ugle notes urge us to high resolve and endeavor that 
Sufficld's future history may never put to sliame its past, but grow 
brighter as centuries roll ? May pure religion be the sure foundation of 
our future greatness ; may our lair women be educated, industrious, pure 
mothers of noble patriots ; may our Ix-ave men )je refined, enterprising, 
guided, and guided only, by the great principles of eternal truth, and 
may the Harmons, wherever on earth's broad surface they may be, do 
credit to their Invave forefatliers, and ever turn with fond recollections to 
the glorious old town of Suffield which their ancestors planted. 

The sacred and blessed memory of tiic first settlers of Sufllcld. 

(This to be received standing, with a dirge from the l)and.) 

The former ministers of Suflield. They were men who gave tliemselvcs wholly 
to tlieir work. Though many of them rest from their labors, their works do I'ol- 
low them. 

By Rev. Joel Mann— by letter. 

New Haven, Oct. 17, 1870. 

Rev. and De.ui Sir : I am unwilling to have the toast I'especting the 
ministers of Suifield to I)e a blank or remain entirely unnoticed. I scml, 
therefore, what follows as my response, which you may give to the com- 
mittee, if you think best, tliat it may go into the record that may be made 
of the proceedings of your interesting celebration. 

The toast is in these words : "The former ministers of Sutlield. Tiiey 
were men who gave themselves Avholly to their work. Though many of 
them rest from their labors, their works do follow them.'" 

The sentiment to which I am requested to respond is somewhat delicate 
and embarrassing, as I have the honor of being one of those who are em- 
braced in it. Leaving out myself, therefore, I would say a few words re- 
specting those whom I have known. It was my privilege to be associat(!d 
in the pastorate with the second Mr. Gay. Though he did not then preach, 
lie i)rayed ; audit is an important matter to have the pray^ers of a man of 
God, and to have the counsels of one who has had a long experience of 
the duties, labors, and difficulties of a pastor. He had a kind heart, and 
with his family practiced true Christian hospitality. Faitliful in the ser- 
vice of the master, ho sustained a long ministry, and has gone to partici- 
pate in the blessedness of the Just made perfect. 

Rev. Mr. Philleo was the pastor of the Raptist church while 1 was 
here. He was an earnest, Avorking man, somewhat eccentric and out- 
spoken. Once he met me in the street, and speaking of the religious 



85 

state of the people, he said : " I wish that we might preach and hxbor in 
such a manner as woukl make them tliink we were half crazy." His la- 
bors were abundant and not without success. 

Rev. Daniel Waldo was another of the pastors in this town — !i man of 
genial spirit, a cheerful worker in the Lord's vineyard, a sound theologian, 
and a faithful preacher, lie had a soul for music, an acute and discrim- 
inating ear, and sensitive nerves. Once at my house he told me how his 
usual equanimity was distur1)ed by unharmonious singing in a church. 
The tune was one he greatly disliked, and the performers of the three 
parts, treble, tenor, and I)ass, he said, " took the pitch at right angles, and 
on they went in that style tlirough the hymn.'' He added that the eftect 
on his nerves was such that he did not feel tliat he could preach after such 
torturing sounds in the name of sacred music. He has passed to the 
l)right world where the redeemed unite in harmonious strains of praise, 
in the 102d year of his age. 

We would gratefully record their virtues, and Ije thankful for the 
grace that made them devoted and faithful in the ministry of the Gospel. 

May these churches ever be favored with pastors strong in faith, sound 
in doctrine, earnest and successful in their hr)ly calling. 

With truly fraternal regard, I am yours, J. Mann. 

Tlic citizens of Suflield to-(l:iy. God <^r:uit tliat the virtues and deeds of our 
ancestry maj' forever hallow our abodes — tliat every earthly blcssiui;- may di-still 
like the dews of heaven ujion them, till Time's last echo shall have censed to 
sound, and the governments of the world shall have i;ivcn iilacc to tiiat of the 
Kinj^ Eternal. 

By Rev. S. D. Phelps, U. D. 

From the Fast, with its treasures of lumorand storey, 

Wrou!;ht out by an ancestry nolile and true, 
O children of Suilicld, the Future's liri^■ht ijlory. 

In promise and lio[ic, is enti'usled to you. 

May virtue and happiness, sisters of lieauty. 
E'er dwell in your homes as their i;;ladness and [icace, 

And the sons of the fathers, unshrinkini;- in duty, 
Make the fame of their heritan'c ever increase. 

May the ))lcssin;;s of earth in the sunshine of Heaven, 

For evcrj' one here in their plentitude rest ; 
And the far richer <;race of the (Josjicl be uivcn, 

As the guide of the soul to the lH)nic of tlic blest. 

In tlie long line of centuries down to their endiiig, 
May the earliest memories blend with the last; 

Through successions of years, benedictions descending, 
Till millennial splendors be over them cast. 



The Pioneers of Suffleld, Conn. 

By Rev. Amos B. Cobb, of C'hiciigo, 111. 

Mr. President: I feel myself honored to be recognized as one ot 
the guests at the second centennial celebration of the settlement of this 
town, my once happy home. Siifficld is endeared to me by interests most 
sacred. 

And now to respond to a sentiment frauglit with so much interest, com- 
mencing with the pioneers' great hearts of thought and action, which the 
word signifies. The two Harmons, fired with the idea of progress, re- 
solved to brave all danger and hardship for interests in the prospective. 
From this noble standpoint assumed by tliose worthy men of large hearts 
and great thoughts, like the rays of the solar orb, have radiated all the 
interests and honors of this now jileasant and wealthy town. The men 
of Sutheld have been in many points the first to think and then to act, 
which has won much renown. 

Samuel and Joseph Harmon were the men to fell those lofty trees, and 
began to transform the wilderness into a fruitful field, albeit it was " a 
very woody place and difficult to winne.'' 

In contemplating those ])rave men, I imagine I see them as they think, 
resolve, and act in their daring project. I fancy I hear them say 'tis 
here we will set up our Ebenezer ; then with tinder-box, flint, and steel 
they kindle a fire by the side of a fallen tree, then sit upon the old oak 
and regale themselves with the beauty of the surrounding scenery, while 
eating the first meal in tlie new town, an<l then lie down beside the log to 
sleep and dream of days to come. 

This is a synopsis of pioneering ; this presents the toil, and suflfering, 
and danger incident to life in a howling wilderness; this the germ of 
what we now witness in this flourishing, wealth^-, and beautiful town. 
From these noble pioneers has the pioneer spirit emanated and radiated, 
as from one common centre. I, too, have known something of ])ioneer 
life, being born April 22d, 1789, only eight days Ijefore the inauguration' 
of Gen. Geo. Washington, as the pioneer President of the United States. 
I cannot claim this as my birthplace, ))ut the place of my adoption at the 
age of thirteen. Here I was educated and raised to maiiliood, a cotem- 
porary of the lamented Rev. Aretas Kent, who subsequently entered the 
ministry and became a pioneer missionary in the far West, and won many 
souls for his Master as an aml)assad()r of Jesus, now gone to report him- 
self and receive his reward. Peace to his ashes, and glory to his soul. 

I entered the ministry and was licensed in March, 1819, and that year 
labored in Winsted and its vicinity. I afterwards labored in Simsbnry, 
Granby, and Canton, ami succeed<'d tlie Rev. .1. N. Maiht in the city of 
Ilartlbrd. 

In 1825 I removetl to Cayuga Co., N. Y., and commenced my labors as 
a pioneer in the great vineyard of the West. The next year I preached 
alternately in Homer, Cortland Co., and liocke, Cnyuga Co. 



From aliout the middle of June to the middk' of November I i)reaclied 
in the woods in open air, as tlie sehool houses and barns were too small 
to contain the congregations ; and what is remarkaldc, there were])ut two 
rainy Sundays in the time, and that was the first Sunday, when we were 
driven into the school house, and the last day we were driven into a barn. 
Many souglit the Lord and professed their iaith in (lodas the result of 
my pioneer labor there. 

In the spring of 1831, being more iully iml>ued with tiie spirit of the 
pioneer minister, I resolved to obey tlie ^-ommand given to the first pio- 
neers of the cross, and as the liehi was large, to say as did the ijrojjlicts, 
here am I, send me. In August I emigrated with my family lo the terri- 
tory of ]Miehigan, and landed at the mouth of Swan Creek, Avhere tlie city 
of Toledo now stands. No white settlement of any great amount, but 
the ground dotted with tents of Indians, collected there to receive jJay 
from government. I journeyed from thei-e to Monroe City, thence up the 
river Raisin, about fifty miles, toTecumseh, where I located and ijreaehed 
for one year in the sparse settlement of that region. I will not detain 
you to speak of all the interesting incidents of that toilsome journev, 
part of the way being only the Indian trail. 

Soon after my arrival at Tecumseh, I went in search of provision for my 
family, and all I could get for love or money in three days' time was a 
borrowed loaf of bread, and six green cucumbers given me. 

The next spring the Black Hawk Avar broke out in the wilds of Wis- 
consin, and threatened to spread desolation and death through all the 
pioneer settlements between there and Canada. We were in jeopardy for 
some months, and onct; were informed that 1,500 Indians were close uj)on 
us, and we felt all the terror and anxiety incident to the anticipated at- 
tack. But it was a false alarm : God ordered it otherwise, and we were 
preserved. God proved liimself a God at hand, and restrained the Avrath 
of man, and we received no harm. To God be ail the praise. 

In August, 1833,1 sold my home in the woods of Tecumseh and started 
for Prairie lionde, Kalamazoo Co., where I unfurled the banner of the 
cross, and the winter following the Lord recognized the labor and sanc- 
tioned it by calling into His kingdom many ])recious souls. There we 
had seasons of privation and want ; but God was Avith us and sustained 
us through all, and I labored on in connection with others in the pioneer 
field as embassadors of Jesus, with more or less success, until the begin- 
ning of the winter '35-6. I was then called to a more extensive field of 
labor in a circuit of about 100 miles. I traveled on horseback, which was 
in fact my study, as there I arranged my sermons, and preached from 24 to 
28 times every. four weeks. I Avas Avith my family but four days out of 
28, and for all my toil, labor, and privation, received about $100 a year. 
j\Iy parishioners Avere all pioneer settlers, and most of them did Avhat they 
could to sui)port the Gospel, and we lived together and God prosi^ered us 
in spiritual and temporal things. 



88 

Mr. President, your humlile speaker and former townsman lias known 
much of the life of the pioneer, botli as a man and a minister, and being 
honored by the appointment of embassador of Jesus Christ to tlie revolted 
world of mankind, I have endeavored not only to teaeh and warn, but 
also to " pray them in Christ's stead l)e ye reconeiled to God." 

Having been raised to manhood from thirteen years of age, anil enter- 
ing upon the a (fairs of civil life as a freeman, commencing I say here in 
lliis town, I claim to be a pioneer of Suffield. Yes, sir, I have been some- 
what a pioneer Methodist minister in this town; for some time I ])reached 
alternately in South street and Fcatlier street, every two weeks, and occa- 
sionally in other parts of the town. 

My ministry in this town was about the last of my labor in New Eng- 
land, excepting a part of the time I preached in Southwick, Mass., which 
adds another link of evidence to my claim of being a pioneer of Suffield. 
Of this I boast. I love to advert to Connecticut— yes, to Suflield— as my 
native liome. Enough of self. 

Pardon me, Mr. President ; I have nnintentiimally passed over the first 
ministers, the 2)ioneers of the Gospel of the Son of God in this town. I 
should have named the Rev. John Younglove as the first to think and act- 
verily a ])ioneer. Mr. Geo. Phili])s and Mr. Nathaniel Clajip were also pio- 
neers, and prepared the way for Mr. Benjamin Kuggles to be ordained the 
first pastor, making him and the church the pioneer pastor an<l church of 
Suffield. But Aretas Kent, myself, and perhaps many others, I know not 
who, have been pioneers from Suffield. Thanks to God for conferring on 
us so great an honor. 

Mr. President, having first alluded to those great hearts and strong 
arms, the Harmons, as the first pioneers in Suflield, I have recognized the 
pioneer spirit that followed, especially in the ministei's of Suffield, who 
have shed a hallowed influence on their successors, of which I think I 
have liad a small share. 

But, sir, as I have defined the word pioneer, first to think and then to 
act, it has been radiating in all its ramifications of business life, so that it 
has become proverbial that the Yankee cntcr])rise going out from Suffield 
is found everywhere. 

At the present time we have heard boast of the great men Avho liave 
been raised and gone out from Suffield as men of thought and action, 
pioneers in literature, in arts, and the sciences. You see, sir, that Suifield 
is renowned for the good and the great. Thanks for your patience and 
forbearance. 

The South Firlils— tliuir sturdy oaks anil hard soil. " Dillicult to winui'," tiic}' 
were tit conipauioiis and eiublL'nis of the unliendini;- and unyiekluii;' integrity of 
our forefatht'i-s. 



89 

The vi,i;-orous Trumbull family. Ilaviii!^ first iilautcd the iiolilu (■Im in Suflickl, 
now extciul tliu liiaiu-lies of llieii- lineal tree o'er many u Stale, and may tln'ir 
leaves be for the liealiiii;- of luitiuns-. 

Letter from J. llaminoiul 'rininbiill. 



IIaktkoko, Oct. lOtli, 1870. 

Daniei, W. NouTox, Esq.: My Deau Siu: Till tliis evening I liave 
been hoping that I niiglit be able to accept your obliging invitation to be 
present at tlie celeljration on Wednesday of tlie two hundredth anniver- 
sary of tlie settlement of Siillield — tlie earliest home in Connecticut of the 
Trumbnlls. But at this late hour I liud myself under the necessity of 
sending my regrets. 

Even if I could be with you, I am not sure that it wouhl be proper for 
me to speak, on such an occasion, as a representative of the surname, 
''i'hough I belong to the dan^ I am not of (the) Sufiield (nepi.) ]\Iy ances- 
tors remained in Massachusetts more than a hundred years after thiir 
kinsmen, the TnimUes of SufHeld, came to Stony Brook. 

Yet, although I have no Suffield blood in my veins, I should not tlie 
less enjoy meeting Avith you, to recall memories of the old time, and to 
look at some of the ancient landmarks that I know only by the mention 
of them in your early records. I would like to trace the boundaiic's of 
the lirst Trumble homelots, on Feather street, and to see the old elm 
that the two brothers planted neaY the lirst Trumble homestead. It 
" lives yet," I am told, and is now about twenty-five feet in circumference 
near the ground, surviving the last representative of the Trumble name 
in Sullield. TIk; best i)art of it, perhaps, is under ground, as is often true 
of ancient families and ancient trees; but the life has not all gone from 
the old stock, and if it no longer throws out new branches as vigorously as 
in former years, scions from it, transplanted to other States, are growing 
into goodly trees. 

I have mentioned the dan of tlie Trumbnlls, and that word suggests 
the Scottish origin of the surname and birthplace of the family. 

In the course of two or three generations, the descendants of the " raid- 
ing and rieving" borderers were trained to good citizenship, and by the 
time Connecticut began to l)e settled, the Trumljles — some of them, at 
least — were qualified to become planters in a " land of steady habits," 
and deacons in puritan churches. 

Several families of the name wcM-e living in Xeirrnslle-on- Tiini'^ in the 
early part of the 17tU century. When I was searching the register of 
All Saints Parish, in that city, several years ago, I found the marriage of 
John Trmnhle and Elinor Chandler, July 7tli, UVi^. These it is nearly 
certain, were the parents of Judah and Joseph, of SufHeld. 

When John and Elinor Trumble came to New England is not precisely 
ascertained. They were living in Uowley, Mass., in 1(511. lie had been 

12 - 



90 

adniitled u iVi'i'iiiiin ol'iMassacliusetts the year before. His kinsman, John 
Triunbk;, ol" Canil^ridge and Charlestown, came over as early, at least, as 
1G'51). Mrs. Elinor, or, as she is called in the Rowley records, Ellen Trum- 
ble, died in 1G19. ller husband married a second wife, who survived 
liiin. At his decease, in 1U57, he left three sons, Jolin, Jiulah^ and JoarpJi, 
all by his first wife. John, the eldest, lived and died in Rowley. About 
Kj'JO he was on the point of removal to Suflield, but he had not yet estab- 
lished hinrself there at the time of his decease, in the winter of 1090-91. 

Jiidah, second son of the lirst John of Rowley, appears on the Connec- 
ticut records in IOCS, when I find his name as plaintiff in an action for 
(h"bt, before the town court in "Windsor. lie may have been living, at 
this time, in Springfield. 

June 24th, 1G74, " the committee for ordering the affairs of the new 
plantation now called Sufficld," granted Judah Trumble and his younger 
brother Joseph each a lot of 50 acres on Feather street. Fi-om this time 
tlie two brothers were counted as of SufTuld. 

The first recorded birth in tlie town is (as I learn from Mr. Syhes's His- 
torical Address in 1858), that of JoUn^ son of Judah and Mary Truml)le, 
l\Iarch 5th, 1074. The first recorded death is that of Ebenezer, son of 
Judah and Mary, Sept. 23d, 1075. 

IJut John, tlie son of Judah, if the first born of Sutfield, was not the 
first born of Suificld Johns. Jot^eph, the younger l)rother of Judah, mar 
ried before him, and had a son Jolm, born in Rowley, Nov. 27th, 1070 — 
alterwards known on Suflield's records as " John Trumble the First." His 
father did not jjring his family to Sufiield till the summer of 1075. In 
June of that year he sold his house in Rowley, and removed as soon as 
his youngest child, born in the previous IMarch, was old enough to travel 
with. 

These two young Johns — "John the First," son of Josepli., and " Jolm 
the Second," son of Jadah — have given genealogists a great deal of 
trouble. I never looked ijito the Sutlield records without being thankful 
that their uncle Jolm of Rowley died before he brought his family to (he 
new plantation. If he liad come, and brought another little Jolm will) 
him, to be mixed u}) with his cousins on the town records, the genealog- 
ical puzzle would have become hopelessly complicated. 

I am making too long a story of the planting of the Trumbull elm, 
and must beware of " endless genealogies." I will dispose of the next 
half dozen generations in as few words as possiljle, and restrict myself to 
lines of descent from Joseph, the younger brother. He had four sons — 
Jolm, Jiiseph, Amml, and Benoiil — who l)ecame the founders of four dis- 
tinct families. 

John was the grandl'atlier of the Rev. John Trumbull, of West-bury, 
(now Watertown), ordained iji 1740, whose son, John Trumbull, LL. D., 
of Hartford, Avas a Judge of the Superior Court from 1801 to 1819, but is 
I'ar better known as the author of "McFingal, the Modern Epic," that l)e- 



91 

came the most popular of American poems, and winl tlirougli more than 
thirty editions I)eforc 1830. The late George A. Trumbull, of the Cit- 
izens Bank in Worcester, was a descendant from John the First. 

Joseph, the second son of Joseph, became one of the early planters of 
Lebanon, where he lived till his dec(\ase in ITo^. His son .A///cf/7t«?i was 
the Kevolulionary Governor. Of him I need only repeat the words of 
Washington: "Ahmgaud well-spent life in the service of liis country, 
places Governor Trumbull among the first of patriots." His eldest sou, 
Col. Joseph, was the first Commissary Genci-al of the army of the United 
States, and a Commissioner of the War Ollice. Another son, Jon<it]i.<in, 
was secretary and aid to Washington, speaker of Congress, 17!)I-17!)G, and 
Governor of Connecticut from 1798 till his death in 1809. A third sou. 
Col. John Tnimhidl, Avas, in the words of his epitaph, " Patriot and artist, 
friend and aid of Washington." The remaining sou, 7)ariiJ, of Lebanon, 
was father of the third Governor, Joseph Trumbull, of Hartford, who died 
in 18(51. The two daughters of the old Governor, Fidlh and Miiry, were 
married, one to Gen. Jedediah Huntington, of the army of the IJevolutiou, 
the other to William Williams, a signer of the Declaration of Indtpcnd- 
euce. The Rev. David TrvniluU, D. 1)., now of Valparaiso, is a grandson 
of Jonathan, the second Governor. 

Ammt, third son of the first .Joseph of Sullield, settled in Ead Winilaor, 
and left descendants there by his son, Capt. Amnii, and two danghtei's 
married, one to Ebcnezer Watson, the other to Ebcnozcr Hayden. Auioug 
his descendants I may name tlie late Dr. Horace Wells, of Hartford, to 
whose memory, as the discoverer of Anathesia, his state ai\d country are 
b(>ginning to award honors that have been too long deferred. 

IjKXOM; fourth son of Joseph, born five days after his fatlier's dcatli, 
and hence, I suppose, named " a son of griel"," founded the llchron fam- 
ily, from which came, in the third generation, the Rev. Dr. lienjainiii 
Trumbull, minister of North Haven, and author of the History of Con- 
necticut. The Hon. Lyman Trumbull, the distinguished Senator from 
Illinois, is a grandson of the Rev. Dr. Trumbull, and a native of Col- 
chester. 

My letter has grown to an unreasonable length, and imperfect as is the 
outline sketch I have attempted to give of one of the principal branches 
of the Suffield stock, I must not now add to or complete it. Twenty 
names occur to me among descendants, in the male lines, from Judali and 
Joseph Trnnil)nll, as well deserving honoral)le mention as some of whom 
I have taken note. And a much longer roll of men of nnirk might be 
niail(! u[) from those who trace dcsc^ent through maternal ancestors from 
the two brotliers of SufKeld. Rut I did )iot purpose to do the work of 
the genealogist, only to cull here and there a few twigs from an old tree. 

With sincere regret that I cauni^t be present at the comnu'inoratiou on 
Weilnesday — a regret in which you can hardly fail to join, when you see 
how long a letter my presence would have spared you, I am, my dear, sir, 
Very truly yours, J. Hammond Ti;rMi;rr,i,. 



92 

The old Porc'li House, the fii-bt parsonaj^-e, and the Sentinel Elms. 

Uesponded to by the lion. Saniin'l IT. Huntington, of Hartford — in 
wliich Judge Huntington very liappily and pleasantly stated that Suthcld 
was the place of his nativity ; that lie was cradled in the old " Poi'cli 
House," where, and at the viihige school, his early boyhood was spent. 
The two majestic elm trees standing in front were planted Ijy the Kev. 
Benjamin Ruggles and his jieople, about 175 years ago. AVe fancy we 
see them, emerging from the forest, with the young elms on their shoul- 
ders, sjiades in hand, and see them planting them on the highway or 
common. In the rear of the old " Porch House " was the well, with its 
crotch and sweep, and " old oaken bucket." The old Bell pear-tree on 
the northwest, into which many a vicious boy climbed in the darkness of 
the night, thus proving the old maxim, " stolen fruit was sweet." During 
the Revolutionary war a company of militia were i)araded nnder the 
shade of these elms one summer's day, during the nionth of August, pre- 
paratory to go to the front in the service of their country. Gen. Wash- 
ington, the " Father of the Country," was passing through Suffield on 
that day, and stopped at the Austin tavern (directly opposite) to dine. 
Some of the principal men of the town invited him to go over and make 
a speech, to cheer and encourage the men in this company to go forward 
and do their duty to their country. He did so, and his speech had the 
desired effect. On another occasion, when General Washington was 
passing through this town, he stopped, and with others went u]) into 
the belfry in the steeple of the Congregational church on the hill, just 
built, with its beautiful spire, by Master Howard, of Suffield. Gen. Wash- 
ington greatly admired tlie beauty of the surrounding country, the dwell- 
ings of its patriotic citi/.ens, and the fertility of its cultivated fields. 

A few years ago one of these majestic elm trees (the north one) fell dur- 
ing a wintry storm of wind, rain, and ice, whose sjiacious roots had been 
mutilated by a ruthless teamster's axe, in which he made a trough which 
he filled with grain, for the purpose of feeding his team, ruining this no- 
ble tree, and causing its death in haif a century, while the other sentinel 
is left in health and strength, solitary and alone, a silent mourner of the 
past, listening to the shrill whistle of the Jirst locomotive Avitli its special 
train from Hartford, over the branch railroad to Suilield, on tliis occasion. 
Long may fJiin sentinel elm stand in all its glory, free from harm and the 
winter's blast, a memento of the past, and mark the site of the holy men 
of old. And long may the worthy and honoral>le resj)ondent to this sen- 
timent live to visit the jjlace of his nativity. 

The 8uHiehl men wlio are lionored business incn of other places. 

Ilespondcd to by Wyllys King, Esq., of St. Louis, Missouri. 

Mu. Piik8II)knt: It is not in my power to make a speech, even if I de- 
sired to do so, or if proj)er to take nj) the time, which can be much better 
used. I only beg the privilege of expressing my sincere thanks to yon as 



93 

the honored president of the day, and through you to tlie committee of 
invitation, for your circular which reached me " heyond the Mis.sissii)pi," 
and whicli prompted my attendance on this happy reunion. Wlien I 
read the names on the eircuhir — Norton, Looiiils, Slicldon, Spencer, and 
other names so familiar in early days, my heart resjionded at once to the 
invitation, and my purpose was fixed to be here if possible. And now I 
am here to mingle in these social pleasures, to hear the voices of old 
friends, and to look once more into one another's faces. Time has wrought 
changes in many of ua, as well as in other things. We have to look dec^j 
down Ijclow the lutes and groves — the marks of time — on our faces to see 
the soul once so well known and esteemed ; but it still lives and siiines 
out in they«rt', and I rejoice to see it there. 

It is more than lifty years since I went out a boy from this grnnd old 
town — how grand only those know who have been abroad — to enter upon 
life's struggles, to fight its battles, and it is nearly forty j'ears since my ex- 
perience of life began " l)eyond the Mississippi," then far off — a journey 
of twenty days of diligent travel — now a journey o^ forty lionrs, and that 
without loss of sleep — then a far off land of plenty and cheapness, so 
much so tliat the farmers there used to tell me that a field of corn of sLvty 
huslieh to the acre " would run any man in del)t to pick it." Now that 
same field is brought so near — thanks to your railroads that have reached 
us — that it is right alongside of your old pastures, into which the crop 
can be thrown with profit to the owner. The spirit of improvement has 
wrought here also, as I discover by the changes made in this old. Sufiield 
street — laagnificent liryond comparison with any other street east or 'west. I 
miss the liuilding which was in the centre of the street, and where I did 
mischief as a school b.')y ; antl a new handsome edifice has replaced the 
" meeting house " into the belfry of which we boys ran \\\) and down on 
the lightning-rod at i)leasure, and some of the most presumptuous even 
up to the ball on the top of tiie spire. 

But I am not to make a speech, and will only remark further — again 
thanking you for this privilege — that my name is Wyliys King, son of 
Zeno King, l)orn in Sullield — l)orn on the river road (mce called "Feather 
street," a designation quite significant, but which I cannot now explain. 
My grandfather, Dan King, liad fourteen children, and the most of them 
grew up, married, and did something more than " talk of ])i>pul,i!i()n," 
and I am told that his grandfather had nineteen children, and at one time 
the name of "King" was on a par with that of "Smitii." 

It may not be out of place here to say that as to mnnhers in the family, 
my own blessings have iteen such that I need not be asliamed to stand u|> 
in the presence of Kings. 



Rev. Mr. Barton [jroposed an imjjromptu toast as follows : 

Our Sudield l)raiirli railroad, and tlie arrival to-day ot its lirst train — two liun- 
drod years in coniiiiL;', but better late tlian never. 

This toast was hap[)ily responded to hy S. A. Lane, Esij., ot" Akron, 
Ohio. After giving some interest ini^,' statisties in regard to the great in- 
crease and also the great value of railroads in Ohio, and through the 
West, he expressed liis joy that now at length his native town was to reap 
the rich benelit of this grand and indispensable instruiuent of civilization. 
lu closing, he gave utterance to a hope — which at no distant day will 
doul)tless be realized — that the Sutiield railroad might have an outlet 
nofth.wanl^ as it now has southward. 

The fanners of SulTiekl — the foundation of soeicty, the bcuef letors and feeders 
of the [)ublie, the hope for a tri-ceateunial celebr.ition. 

Responded to by Major Edwin P. Stevens. 

Mr. President and Fellow-Citizens : The sentiment just read is a 
truth so apparent that it needs no argument from me to prove it. It is 
from the fields and gardens of the liusl)andman that the table of the great 
kings, presidents, and nol)les are supplied, as well as tliat of the peasant. 

What a change to-day from that those noble pioneers beheld, when they 
lirst came here and l)uilt their rude caluns, and made themselves a houK!, 
and commenced the settlement of our town. The dark forests and the 
giant oaks have nearly disappeared before their sturdy blows, and to-day 
we look out upon well cultivated iields and stately mansions, where 
wealth and prosperity prevails, with joy and rejoicings, in all our hab- 
itations. 

These beautiful churches, these institutions of learning, stand like dia- 
monds in the coronet of a prince, not only to beautify, but to bless. 

What clianges another century will bring it would be ditlicult to ])r(!- 
dict. The river, that marks our eastern boundary and gives name to our 
noble State, will How on to the ocean ; the lirooks will run in their accus- 
tomed channels; thel)eautiful landscapes and fertile valleys will be here; 
those western liills, and even old Manitic, that stands on our western bor- 
der, will remain unchanged and unchanging — but we, fellow-citizens, of 
to day will not be liere ; others will walk these silent vales; before that 
tinu! we shall be gathered to our fathers, and shall slec|) the long sleep of 
deatli. 

Let us then, fellow-citizens, meet with jiromptness the (bities of our 
})osition, and discharge them with fidelity. Let us practice the virtues of 
our fathers, and when we, like them, shall have passed away, we may have 
the proud con.sciousness that our town and the world have been made 
better by our living in it. 




/4^^ ^.w;. ^JL^ 




<^^/^^^^^-«^^ /"^^^^ Cye^c 



95 

Tlic olik'st man in Siillickl— C;iiit. ^\ polios riielp.s. 

Ciipl. Plu'l[)s CiiiiR' upon tiai stjind and said: Mr. Piesidcnt, and fcllow- 
citi/cns : 1 tliaidv yoit lor kindly rcnicnd)L'ring me on tliis deeply intcr- 
estinii; occasion. I stand l)efure you lo-day tlic oldest man that is an in- 
habitant of this town. It was in SidlieJd that I was born, in Sullicld I 
have ahvMVs lived. I have been an active coteniporary with two genera - 
lions that have passed away. May Ihe blessings of Alndghty God rest 
upon tile nu'U and wonu'u of SiiHield to-day, aiul the generations that 
are to succeed you long after all that is mortal of ApoUos Phelps shall 
be reposing beneath its generous soil. 

Other voices than those whose remarks arc recorded yavc utterance to 
the thoughts and emotions, which seemed to well up spontaneously in 
every htiart ])resent, and many otlicrs would have been glad to have 
spoken, but the time of parting had come, and the company dispersed, 
each to seek his own home and the sphere to which he was accustomed to 
act. But all seemed to be well satislicd to have spent one day in com- 
memorating the virtues of their ancestors, and reviving the friendships of 
earlier years. 

The Executive Committee desire to acknowledge much to the ladies of 
Sutliehl for their aid in the jircparation for the tal)lc, audio all those who 
have assisted in the work and lal>or attending the celebration, as well as 
preparing the Appendix ibr the press. 



LETTERS AND REGRETS, 

rtECJilVKD 15Y IXVITATION COMMITTEE. 

Ravenna, Ohio, Octobir 1, 1870. 

To Wm. L. Loomi!?, Simon Ij. Kendall, Alkekt Austin, Es(|s., ami 

others, CoiiuuittL'e, &c. : 

Gentlemen: £ have just rccrivctl your kiiul invitation lo attend and 
participate with you and otliers in the bi-eenteiinial celeljratioii of the 
"Grant of the General Court of Boston, October 13th, 1G70," which Avas, 
I presume, tlie first elective movement for the settlement of the tlien wil- 
derness, now tlie beautiful and llourisldng town of Suflield, our own na- 
tive town. For this invitation I thank you, and 1 assure you that noth- 
ing could give me more pleasure than it would to visit my old native 
place on such an occasion, and view it as it now is, and associate with 
those I might find there, and visit the graves of my ancestors. Though 
I might find few familiar fac-(!s after so long an absence, I would, no doubt, 
enjoy and duly appreciate the friendly greeting of some old friends, and 
others of the young generation that have succeeded the de])arted ones. 

But I am now an old man, and though enjoying tolerable health, am, 
I fear, too feeble to endure the fatigues, to say nothing of the expense, of 
a journey of some 700 miles, even with the advantages of the modern im- 
provements in loc(«notion. Besides, to attend there on the 13th I would 
liave to lose my vote at our Ohio annual election, which occurs on the 
11th instant. I have never yet failed to cast my vote at an annual elec- 
tion in Ohio for near fifty years. 

]My father, .Ellas Harmon, Sen., son of Deacon John ITannon, died on 
his farm a half mile west of the West Sufiield meeting house, in January, 
1793, leaving a widow' and eight children, of whom I was the youngest- 
born December 11th, 178!), and of them all I am now the oidy survivor. 
Wii all removed West, the first in 1799, myself in March, 1803, and I have 
never re-visited my native State; hxvc always wished to, but never found 
it convenient, ami now I expect I must wholly give it up. asking of you 
to excuse me now. 

Accept now my best wishes for a pleasant meeting on the 12th, and for 
the future prosperity of you all, indiviilually, and for my dear old native 
town John IIai'.mon. 

13 



98 

BuFTALo, N. Y., July 20, 1870. 
D. W. NouTON, Esq., Cliairinan, 6cc. : 

My Deak Sir : Your esteemed favor of the Gth hist., invitiiiii,- me to at- 
tend the comiiit;' bicentennial anniversary of the settlement of the town 
of Suffield, on the lltli and 12th of October next, is received, and would 
have been earlier answered but for my absence from Bufl'alo. Since my 
arrival home, last Saturday, I have looked over my business engagements 
and do not see how I can be with you at the time of the celebration. It 
is therefore prudent for rac ^to say to you my attendance is so uncertain 
that you cannot safely rely upon my being present and taking a part in 
the ceremonies. I can assure you nothing would give me greater pleasure 
than to be present with you and to participate in tlie interesting ceremo- 
nies of that occasion. It is indeed an occasion which cannot but give 
utterance to a noble, sublime, and expansive sentiment. You will neces- 
sarily be carried back to contemplate the deeds and virtues of our ances- 
tors, a race of men and women ever to be revered by their descendants, 
for their indomitable energies and exalted virtues. Heaven bless and 
prosper you in the pious and dutiful work before you. 

Yours most respectfully, S. G. Austin. 

Montgomery, Ala., September 19, 1870. 
Hon. Daniel W. Norton, Chairman : 

Dear Sir : I have delayed a reply to your invitation to meet the " sons 
and daughters of Suffield " at the celebration of their bi-centennial an- 
niversary, hoping I might be al)le to be present ; but that I tind will be 
impossible, and can only exjjress my regret. Nothing would give me 
greater pleasure than to greet once more the friends of half a century, 
and their descendants, and unite with them in celebrating the two hun- 
dredth anniversary of the birth of our old mother. I am 2)roud of being- 
remembered as a son of Suffield, and of being wortliy of an invitation to 
meet lier distinguished sons, and unite with them in their festivities. 
Nearly forty years ago I left lier to seek my fortune in a distant land; 
but I haVe never ceased to remember her with i)ri(le, and to feel a deep 
interest in her welfare, and the welfare of her children. I trust I shall 
, ever so i'ememl)er her till "my right hand shall forget its cunning." 

But, two hundred years ! How long! and yet how short -when Ire- 
member that I have seen more than one fourth of them roll away. Wiiat 
change's have been wrought within my recollection ! How many loved 
ones have passed away to return no more ! In your cemetery sleeps the 
dust of my parents and ancestors, with many dear friends. I confess to 
a feeling of sadness at the recollection. 

Thanking you, Mr. Chairman, and through you the Executive Commit- 
tee — several of whom I remember as the friends of my youth — for your 
kind invitation, permit me to hope that the future history of "old Suf- 
lield" may be even more glorious than its past — that its record of ))right 



99 

names may be even more illustrious llian the iM'eeeding one — that her 
" sons may be as plants, grown up in their youth; that her (lauj4hters 
may be as corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palaee ; that 
her garners may be full, atlbnling all manner of store," and that the hap- 
piness and prosperity of lier children may continue to the end. 

I am, dear sir, very truly yours, W.m. II. Smith. 

Pkovidencr, R. L, Oct. 10, 1870. 
To D. W. Norton, Esq., and Associates : 

Gentlemen: Your note of invitation to participate in the celeltration 
of the approaching bi-centennial anniversary of the settlement of Suffield 
came duly to hand. I should have replied weeks ago had I not hoped to be 
present on the occasion. But this satisfaction I am compelled reluctantly 
to forego. 

In common with the good people of my native town, I feel that I owe 
a debt of gratitude to the brave men who laid the foundations of that 
municijjality. Though it is now thirty-five years since I, a stripling, left the 
town, yet the influence of early association and companionship is felt to- 
day. The industrial habits of the people among whom my youth was 
jjassed, their regard for education and morality, and their res])ect for the 
institutions of Christianity, I reckon among the best educational influ- 
ences which I enjoyed in early life. I owe to tliem more to-day than to 
any institutions of learning. 

Gladly, therefore, would I unite with you in paying a deserved tribute 
to those who have passed away, but wliose works still praise them. May 
the next bi-centennial find the principles and practicesof the fathers flour- 
ishing in full vigor among their descendants. 

"With sentiments of respect I am your obedient servant, 

A. II. GnANGKTJ. 

GurLFORD, Sc-pt. 1!), 1S70. 
D. W. Norton, Esq. : 

Dear Sir: Please accept the sincere thanks of myself and family for 
the kind invitation your committee have given us to Ijc present at your 
bicentennial anniversary on the 12th of October next. Be assured it 
would afford me great pleasure to comply with this invitation ;• but such 
is the state of my health that I shall not be al^le to be with you on the 
deeply interesting occasion. The part which you kindly proposed for me 
must, of course, be given to some one else. 

Very respectfully yours, Henry Rouinson. 



100 

]\Iendota, La Salle Co., III., Oct. 1, 1870. 

My Dkaii Elizaijetii P. Piiilleo : Your welcome letter dated Septem- 
ber 26th was duly received, for wliicli I thank you and those extending a 
kind invitation to me and my wife, to attend the celel)ration pending on 
the 12th of Octol^er, at SufReld. You ask my sentiments in regard to 
such occasions. I repl}^ my mind is occupied with the scenes of tlie future 
state of my being. I am in the 84th year of my age. My hope in God is 
unshaken amid all tlie revolutions and changes of a protracted life. ^V^' 
live in an era of great interest and surprising changes. The next great 
event in the unfolding purposes of God, I think, will be the restoration 
of the Jews to the land of their fathers. TJussia, from indications plainly 
manifest, Avill be employed as the favored instrument to remove the ob- 
stacles in the way of their return. 

Russia may have no higher motive tlian her own aggrandizement in 
the enlargement of her own vast empire. The Jews, wherever located, 
though jiossessed of vast wealth, are not the owners of real estate ; con- 
sequently they stand ready at the providential signal to march in rank 
and file, under the banner of the great Shepherd of Israel, to possess the 
land promised to their fathers. I am no prophet, and would not be 
curious to pry into the secret things of God, but study them carefully and 
prayerfully as the opening leaves unfold. Infidels are everywhere exult- 
ing over their fancied victories over the Christian religion. How vain 
are their hopes ; sudden and final will be their overthrow. "The Lord 
reigns; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of the isles thereof be glad." 
"Glory to God in the highest; ])eacc on earth and goodwill toward 
men." And let tlie whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and 
amen. 

I like to have forgotten Sufilcild altogether in my tlight of thought. 
But I still remember her, and feel hajipy to know that I am kindly re- 
membered. I well remember after being in an extensive revival of 
religion in the State of New York, I took a journey eastward and called 
on Elder Cushman in Hartford, to visit and hear preaching. But he 
urged me to go to Sullield — perhaps God would bless my labors. I com- 
plied with his urgent request. I found the peo])lo without a pastor, and 
somewhat divided. I appointed a meeting. The jieojjle gathered, and 
God blessed the word, and many were added to the church. I stayed in 
Sufiield and enjoyed a second glorious revival. I got permission of the 
church and congregation of leave of absence for four or five weeks to visit 
Pawtucket, R. I., in compliance Avith an earnest request of the church in 
that place, hoping and jiraying that God would l)less my labors there as 
he had in other places. I left home in my own conveyance. I arrived 
there after two days' travel. I reached Pawtucket late in the afternoon. 
A meeting was apjiointod in the vestry in the evening. The bell was 
rung, the people soon filled the vestry to overflowing. I felt sure that 
God would bless the word to the salvation of souls. T obtained this evi- 



101 

deuce on my way thither. My prayers found a place at tlie tlirone ot 
grace. A work of God that very evenuig connnenccd, and extended ovei' 
all that region. Here I was brought to a stand. I could not labor in 
Sudield and Pawtucket. I finally, with great reluctance, decided to go 
to Pawtucket. I never found a kinder people than the people of Sufhekl. 
I preached twice on the Sa))1)ath, and then in the evening to Boston Neck, 
then to Ciiristian street, (so-called,) at Simon Kendall's school house, Sikes' 
school house ; to complete the circle at the Sheldon school house, near 
Martin Sheldon, Escj. These meetings were always well attended. 

I lune written during my life a cart full of mauuscrijjt, hut never read one 
in my whole ministerial life and called it jireaching. A minister should 
feel a consciousness that he is called of God to his high and holy calling 
before he enters upon his work, and enter into it with all his heart and 
soul, looking up to Him for aid and success. A man not conscious of this 
inward call to the ministry must feel reproved every step he takes Avitli 
these words sounding in his ears: "Who hath required this at your 
hands?" 

To return again to Suilicld. The church ))elieved in the practice of 
opening the doors after preaching, to give time and opportunity to any 
who might feel it their duty to drop a word of exhortation warm from 
the heart, (This practice was customary in the church in the State of 
New York, where I enjoyed my first membership.) Capt. Apollos Phelps 
sometimes would burst like a bombshell upon the congregation, which 
made that old meeting-house crack again, and the church felt warmed, 
awakened and comforted under such a powerful explosion, coming from 
a heart filled with the love of God, Sister Gunn, Deacon Gunn's wife, 
would rise to speak, stand erect in the door full six feet, would 2)our out a 
warm exhortation full of good sense and comfort. She was a strong woman 
physically ami mentally. To carry out her views of the rights of women, 
she went into the mowing and harvest fields and i)erforme<l the work of 
men and received men's wages, though she was independent in her cir- 
cumstances — her husband was a prosperous farmer. The evening meet- 
ings were conducted in tlie same manner as in the m(;eting house. AVhere 
the gifts of the church are all locked u]), tlie ministers preach all, i)ray all, 
say all, do all, control all, mould all, and he mounted on his ministerial 
saddle, whi[) and spur in hand — that church is " dead, twice ilead." To 
come back again to Sullield. I never set a pi'ice on my jireaching and 
[)astoral labors. I think they raised on sul)scriplion, about $1500 a year. 

Sullield was a farming town. ]\Iy real wants were supplied from their 
abundance above and Ixiyond their subscription. If they had any good 
things I was sure to share a 2)art with them. In West Sufiield a Baptist 
church was organized at (juite an early day. Old Elder ]\[orse was their 
pastor. lie had been down to Hartford in the course of the week to at- 
tend a religious meeting, and returning early Sunday morning to West 
Sullield fo preach, as usual, passing throiigli Windsor, he was accosted 



102 

where he was travelmg on the holy SabhaUi:' lie replied he was going 
to West Suffield. He was told to dismount from liis horse and stay in their 
house till Monday morning, and then he miglit go on his way. He plead 
witli them to let him pass on ; he would disturb no one. He bid them 
good morning, put whip to his horse, and was on his way to West Suf- 
field. The standing order mounted their horses and pursued, determined 
to bring him back to Windsor, to be tried for breaking the holy Sab- 
bath. The elder led them on, keeping a little ahead of them, till they all 
arrived in front of the meeting-house, on Zion's Hill, so called, where a 
vast multitude of people were gathered. 

The elder dismounted and turned and addressed his pursuers and per- 
secutors : " Gentlemen, here is where I preach, and if you will go into 
the meeting and hear me preach, you may then go home to Windsor ; 
otherwasc I will complain of you for breaking the holy Sabbath, as you 
call it." The men complied w'ith the terms proposed, and went on their 
way back to Windsor ashamed and confounded. 

Thus, I have written a few broken, disconnected tlioughts. It is 
poorly written, but I cannot conveniently re-write it. My best love to you 
and your family, and all who remember and en(|uire after me. My spirit 
will be with the people of Suffield on the 12th of October. Looking at 
the present condition of our country, I rejoice with trembling. Who will 
celeljrate this day one hundred years hence ? 

From your alTectionate father and friend, 

Cai.vin Piiilleo. 

Mendota, Oct. 3, 1870. 

Dear Elizabeth : Although I was never a resident of Suffield, any- 
thing done in the State of Connecticut, where I so long resided, becomes 
to me very interesting. It is, in my estimation, a noble act to celebrate 
in after time great and noble deeds. I presume on this occasion you will have 
a grand mental exhibition of the vast improvements that have been made 
in the administration of the government of the American people since the 
days of British rule. I should indeed be glad to be with you, and listen 
to the glowing eloquence that will doubtless be displayed on the occasion. 

I liope the ladies will be remembered during this bi-centennial and 
some suitable credit given to them for the many lieroic and philanthropic 
deeds they have performed during the growth of our national republic. 

Aflectionately yours, 

Pkudence Cuandall Piiilleo. 



103 

AViLMiNGTON, III., Oct. 0, 1870. 

William L. Loomis, Esfj., mikI otliors of llie ('oiiiniittcc of Invitation : 

Deau Siks : Tbrougli the kiiuhiL'ss of friends, I liuve liad tin- i)le:isure 
of receiving, by your printed circular, an invitation to attend the second 
l)i centennial anniversary, to beheld in Suflield, Oct. 12th, instant. 

I much regret tliat my engagements will not admit of my 2)articipation 
in your interesting celebration. Although a thousand miles away fnmi 
you, out upon the broad prairies of Illinois, whose population now ex- 
ceeds two and a half millions of people, in the midst of the movements 
incident to the development of the almost immeasurable wealth which 
nature, with a lavish hand, has stored away within its boundaries, as one 
of the descendants referred to in your circular, and as an Illinoian, I send 
you a hearty friendly greeting. 

Although not a native of Suftield, yet the name is like that of a house- 
hold word. Neither am I altogether a stranger ; for of Connecticut, my na- 
tive State, I am justly proud. New England and Illinois have many in- 
terests in common — pecuniary, commercial, friendly, fraternal. The ties 
binding them together fast and strong are innumerable. New England 
enterprise and wealth have materially aided in the develoi)meut of the 
great interests of the West, and no State has i>rofited more largely in 
these benefits than Illinois. You require the products of our mines and 
our soil. We of your looms and manufactories. 

Here the genius and enterprise of your surplus 2)()])ulatioii can (hid 
ample room for rich expansion. Wherever they go, or wherever they are, 
the sons of New England will not be unmindful of their origin, and never 
will they forget the land of steady habits. The history and reminiscences 
of your locality for the last two centuries the sons of Sutlield and their 
descendants will delight to contemplate. And the reunion of those that 
have wandered for and wide I trust will be under the most favorable 
auspices. 

Again I shall express my deep regret at not being able to join you on 
so memorable an occasion. Thanking you for your zeal and enterprise in 
arranging the celebration of so important an event in the history of Suf- 
field, for the interest you have manifested in its sons and daughters and 
their descendants, and for the invitation to me, one of the descendants of 
Ebenezer Hathaway, I will express the hope that your most favorable an- 
ticipations may be realized, and the day you celebrate be remembered for 
another liundred years. 

With much interest in your welfare, 

I am your most obedient servant, 

David U. Coiu;. 



104 

Zanesville, Ohio, Oct. 10, 1870. 
Messrs. Wm. L. Luomis, iukI otlitrs of the Committee on luvitation, &c. : 

Gentlemen : On my return home from my fall circuit I found your 
note awaiting me, extending a cordial invitation to meet with the people 
of Suffield on the 12th day of OctolK'r, and join in Iheh- lii-centennial 
anniversary celebration. 

Although born in Ohio, Suffiehl Vvas the home of my ancestry, and in- 
deed, if family tradition be true, Lancelot Granger, my great-grcat-great- 
grandlather, who married Joanna, daughter of "Robert Adams of New- 
bury," on the 4th day of January, 1G54, was one of the original settlers 
of your town. Having made several pilgrimages to the old homestead 
on Taintor Hill since I came to manhood, I am not altogether a stranger 
to the town, and was pleased to note, when last there, (in 18C6), that 
Avhile so much of what was old remained to remind of people and years 
that are past, there was also so much of improvement in buildings and 
grounds as proved tliat age had not taken away the vigor of the 
town; that while the stern virtues that belonged to tlic founders may 
have gone into tlie past along with tlie times and circumstances that 
moulded or were moidded by them, their successors, now resident in quiet 
safety and comfort where their ancestors maintained themselves by cour- 
age and endurance, amid 2)rivati()n and danger, exhibit their full share of 
tlie virtues of a generation, whose duty it is to improve, adorn, and beau- 
tify ; wliose energies must be applied in the direction of education, pro- 
duction, culture, and comfort. But if I do not cry halt, my jicn will, I 
feai-, successfully accomplish what more properly pertains to an (iiigni: 

Duties in Ohio forbid my bodily presence in Connecticut on the 12th 
inst. I will on that day try to be with you in mind. Rest assured that 
many sons and grandsons of Sullield Avho must remain away from your 
celebration will on tliat day be thinking of Avhat you are (h)ing and re- 
frettiii"' their inability to be in old Sutheld on her two liundredtli birth- 
day. Vei'y respectfully yours, 

Moses M. GI{ANGEl^. 



St. Lours, Oct. 4, 1870. 
To Daniel W. Nouton, Simon V>. Kundali-, Wm. L. Loomis, ^Jad 

Sheldon, IIezekiaii S. Sheldon, T. IIkzkkiaii Spenceu, and IIenky 

]\I. Sykes, greeting : 

Your note to S. A. Lane, Esq., of Akron, Ohio, inviting himself and 
family, which I suppose includes myself, to the bi-centennial anniversary 
at Sullield, Oct. 11th and 12th, was read by me, and Ijeing unable to at- 
tend personally, I tliought perhaps a few lines from me Avould be accept- 
alile. 

Born January 9th, 1810, I am of course GO years old, and can call to 
mind events of the past for more than a quarter of that 200 years, enough 
to till a volume; but I am aware sucli letters must be short. I am some- 



105 

what in the condition of my fellow-booksclk'r, Oliver Ditson, of Boston 
wlio being- iisked to say grace at a large clani-bake near tlie seashore, anil 
not being used to it, got along very well till near the close, and not know- 
ing how to end, says: " Uii, Lord ! Very respectfully yours, Oliver 
Ditson." 

Among the many friends born in SulHeld, you will have my "bio- 
brother," of the Summit Bearon, and also the Hon. Wyllys King, of this 
city. You must call out these gentlemen for five or ten minutes' speeches. 
I think they will have something to say. Oh, how I would like to be with 
you. 

I met my old friend and faithful teacher, Mr. IJeuben Granger in 
Chicago last week, and arm in arm we walked about the city nearly one 
day. He had received your printed document, with invitation to be with 
you and take part in the exercises, but will not be able to attend. Now 
73 years old, and smart and active in business, the same good man, and 
has the habit of saying "I will do thus and so. Providence permitting ; " 
and his father, Capt. Rufus Granger, used a similar ex2)ression — " the door 
of Providence opening." Gideon Granger, the former Postmaster General 
under Jetlerson, and also Madison, once said to him : " Cousin Rufus, you 
must be an important personage — deity for a doorkeeper." Dr. Ira Hatch, 
of Chicago, formei-ly from S|n-ingtield, Mass., says to me : " Comfort, have 
you brought me that book, the title of which I suggested, viz. : ' The Quijis 
and Quirks of a Bachelor; or, the Reminiscences of Comfort V. Lane, of 
Crooked Lane, near Springfield, Mass.' " Dr. ILitch, and brother, too, 
think it would be a literary curiosity to take a look into that big trunk 
of mine, which is a third full of letters, some of them received 40 and 
even 50 jears ago, carefully filed away, having passed over tlie road from 
and to St. Louis some dozen times. 

Sjieaking of " Crooked Lane," I do not suppose it was so named be- 
cause we, as a family, were particularly crooked or dishonest. According 
to Henry M. Sykes' record, we seem to come " straiglit " down from the first 
settlement of Suffield in 1635 — Samuel Lane, 1st, do. 2d, do. 3d, Gad Lane, 
Comfort Lane, Comfort V. Lane ; and once speaking to a friend of being 
of English descent, and not myself large of statue, he observed : "Rather 
rapid descent." 

I fliink you will l)car me witness, nor think me egotistical, if I S2)eak of 
my good father. Comfort Lane, as an honest, ujiright man, and much be- 
loved in your good old town ; and I was much gratified, some twenty 
years ago, in coming over the Berkshire hills, in the old-fashioned stage 
coach, to learn from the driver, IVlr. ChalTee, who owned the coach, that I 
was riding over the gear-work built by my own father, nearly twenty 
years before. He built of strong and solid material, and his work lasted 
almost ecpial to " The one-horse shay, which ran a hundred years to a 
day ; " and he remarked, " Your father was too honest to get rich." 

Well, fri(!nds, I Avould rather have that inheritance than riches. A 
plain nvirl)le slal) marks the spot, with this simple inscription: "Mr. 

li 



106 

Comfort Lane ; died Sept. 21, 1828 ; aged 45." And as I stood there last 
June, alone, I said Avithin myself, "the friends of my youth, where are 
they?" and a "still small voice" seemed to say, "whei'e?" 

Some of you still remain ; others are scattered in tlie great North 
and Southwest, some South, and a few in foreign lands. But the 
great multitude are in the silent grave. " Low their heads lie beneath the 
clods of the valley. Silent are their slumbers in the grave, and they un- 
conscious of all that is passing beneath the sun. 

We do well to cherish their memories and their virtues, and when we 
visit the place where the precious dust rests, not to look down into the 
cold, dark grave — for there is no comfort there — but to look up, and walk 
cheerfully on to the end, and in looking uj), 

" Heaven's own li^lit dispels the gloom, 
Slimes downward from eternal day, 
And casts a glory round tbc tomb." 

But perhaps I am getting too serious. Li leaving the grave of my 
father I went to Zion's Hill. I have seen much of American scenery, but 
never realized liefore that I was born in such a beautiful town. As you 
stand on Zion's Hill, say some jileasant, clear day in June, and look around 
you, there is not a single spot but that the eye rests with complacency, 
pleasure, and delight. 

Mt. Tom and Holyoke north, the Russell, Blanford, and Berkshire hills 
west, the Tolland mountains east, and the hills and valleys off toward 
Hartford and New Haven. The beautiful allusion, familiar to you all, 
may come in place here, where a distinguished lecturer speaks of the 
sainted Peter, borne on angel wings to heaven's gates. St. Peter meets 
him tliere and asks who comes ? Peter, from Suflield, is the meek rci)ly. 
" Well, Peter, we welcome you here, but ralher advise you to return to 
that country. It is a pleasanter country than this." 

Well, friends, when I relate that story here they smile and say, that 
will do f(jr SuHi(!ld peo2)le to tell. How it would be with St. Louis I 
cannot say ; but of Chicago there is a story often told, the iirst man who 
went up to the golden gates to ask admittance, St. Peter could find no 
such place on the map, and no person from there had ever entere<l. Per- 
haps because no mountain, hill, or valley, or river of pure water is there, 
the " streams whereof make glad." 

Well, back to " Crooked Lane." I shall confine myself to the district 
where I first saw the light, and my space will not allow me even to write 
the names of those who have passed away in my memory there. 

Fresh in my memory to-day arc the heads of families who have de- 
parted; commencing in rotation and going north, John BoukerKing, and 
his brother I'^paphras King, Chauncy Stiles, David Curtiss, John Fitch Par- 
sons, Jonah King, Amos Sikes, 1st and 2d Henry Wright, Comfort Lane, 
Jonathan Remington, ApoUos Fuller, Gamaliel Fuller, Julius King, Calvin 
Adams, Thaddeus Sikes, Horace Gideon Sikes, Daniel Sikes, Julius Fow- 



107 

ler, tile Adamses, and many others, liave served their time and nencratidii, 
and have passed away. 

To tlie Honorable Committee of the BiCentcnnial C'eleljration : Greeting : 
Some of you the companions of my youth, and all my friends in ri2)er 
years. Sixty years of age ! It does not seem i^ossible. I feel to-day tiie 
sprightliness and activity of youth, and am thankful to Almighty God for 
his preserving care. About thirty years of active business life, and hav- 
ing divided that time between the four great cities, Boston, Ncav York, 
Chicago, and St. Louis, I have come in contact with the wide, wide world 
more than you who have remained at home. The flight of time — oh, how 
rapid 1 — whirled and pushed on iu life's busy scenes, the end ^oill come. 
We have much to do with earth and earthly things, and will have to ren- 
der a strict account of our stewardship here. 

Our great moral Leader once said : " My Father hitherto worked, and 
I work," showing that lie was not above physical labor or his duty 7(«t. 

Let us so fulfil our mission here that when the summons shall come we 
may hear the welcome plaudit, " servant of God, well done ; thou hast 
been faithful to thy trust on earth; come up higher to the employment 
and the glories of the upper world.'' 

Our path in this life is often circuitous, and we feel at every move the 
thorns of the wilderness ; yet He who guides will lead us by a " right 
way," even unto a " city of habitation." Wherefore let us comfort each 
other with these words. Comfort V. Lane. 



^ Boston, October 10, 1870. 

My Dear Mr. Norton : I returned home yesterday from a visit to 
Duxbury, and found the invitation to be present in Siiffield on the 12th 
inst., at the bi-centennial celebration of the settlement of your beautiful 
town. I was born in the town of Amenia, New York, but was born into 
New England life at the age of thirteen, when I removed with my father 
to Suffleld. I was old enough to appreciate in some degree the exceeding 
beauty of SufReld, and to notice the contrast between the newer civiliza- 
tion in which I had lived, and the comparatively old and cultivated 
scenery which distinguishes Suffield. I reniendjcr the old church, from 
the steeple of which we were told Gen. AVashington himself had looked 
and praised the beauty of the scene which was spread out before his eyes. 
I can recall the picture at the distance of nearly 45 years. I attended 
Reuljen Granger's school, and was for a few months a pupil of Parson 
Gay — indeed, I received all the education I ever received at school in 
Suffield. It was somewhat singular that years after my only brother 
should settle in this same old town ; and first by his marriage with your 
daughter, and finally by laying all that was mortal in the burial ground, 
his pen has described in such glowing words, he has invested Suffield witli 
a tender claim on my remembrance, nmking all that concerns its afiairs 
and welfare iutcrestinjj to me. 



108 

I am greatly ol>liged to you for counting me as one of the large family 
of Suffield's children, and should be proud to be present as the rc])resen- 
tative of my father and brother; but circumstances forbid, and I must 
relinquish my chance of celebrating a bi-centennial, for I am almost GO, 
and, with a large number of those who will join in this shall have been 
gathered to the generations gone before long ere another occasion like 
this returns. 

Accept my best wishes for the plca"aut celebration of the day, and be- 
lieve me yours with respect, E. C. WnirPLE. 

Trov, Miami Co., Ohio, Oct. 6, 1870. 
Committee of the Bi-Centennial Anniversary, Suffield, Conn. : 

Gentlemen: Your note inviting me to be with you Oct. 12th was re- 
ceived last evening, forwarded by my brother. I regret exceedingly that 
it will not be convenient for me to comply with your request. I look 
back with pleasure to my native town. Always feel interested in its 
prosperity. 

Ho2:)ing you may have a pleasant and profitable reunion, I remain yours 
respectfully, Fanny Parsons. 

Washington, Oct 7, 1870. 
Dear Mrs. PniLLEo : 

I received your letter this morning, enclosing an invitation to me 
to be present at the celebration of the two hundredth anniversary 
of my native town, Suflield, Conn. The infirmities of age will prevent 
my participating in person in this interesting event. It must now be re- 
membered I am one of her oldest daughters. My father removed me to 
Washington City the fall of 1810. Sixty years have passed, and my pil- 
grimage numbers almost eighty-five years. The scenes and events of 
early days are now vividly before my mind, and memory recalls some of 
the fathers of the names of those who constitute the committee of invi- 
tation, to whom I return my respects. 

Mrs. B. p. Fletcher. 





J^^^i.JJ^ 






DEACON HENRY A. SYKES. 



Was born in Sufficld, September 22, 1810. At tlie early age of five years he 
was left an orphan, and lived with bis grandfather. Victory Sykes, until of 
suitalile age be was put to learning the art of architect and builder, with 
Mr. Cbaunccy Sheiihcrd, of Springfield, Mass. Subsequently he pursued 
the study of architecture, under the tuition of Ithiel Towne, Esq. 

His skill and taste as an architect were of a sujierior order, of which 
there are many proofs in the surrounding towns ; part of the buildings 
connected with Amherst College, residences and churches in Greenfield, 
Mass., many stores and private residences in Springfield, were built under 
his superintendence, and according to plans of his design. And not to 
mention more, the Second Baptist Church, and the building now used by the 
Hartford and New Haven Railroad Company for their freight dcjiot, in 
this place, but formerly the house of worship of the First Congregational 
Church and Society, bear upon tliem the marks of his taste, and are 
monuments to his memory. 

Though never enjoying advantages for more than a common education, 
he, through self-discipline and a diligent improvement of his time, ac- 
quired an extensive knowledge on many subjects beyond llie range of his 
trade, and evinced a mental culture of no ordinary degree. 

He was fond of antiquarian researches, was a zealous student of his- 
tory, and the results of his research into the early history of his native 
town are referred to with jjride by his townsmen. Probably there was 
no one who could speak more definitely, or so definitely, as he. On the 
IGthof Sei)tember, 1858, he delivered an interesting historical address at 
Suflield, on occasion of the 150th anniversary of tlie decease of the Rev. 
Benjamin Rugghs, first pastor of the First Congregational (!hurch here. 
Tliis address, with the proceedings of the day, has been ])ublished. At 
tlie time of his decease he had collecte<l, and was collecting, materials, 
which he intended to \)\\t in permanent form, to be given to the public. 

He was an honorary memljer of several historical ami an(i(|Uiirian so- 
cieties. In 1854 the degree of A. ^I. wasi'onfcrred upon liini hy Amherst 
College. 

Rut he was not known alone by his historical lesearches, or as a 
builder, but by his Christian virtues. He here made Christ his trust; he 
here laboreil as Christ's servant. 



no 

In May, 1857, he was chosen deacon of the First Congregational 
Church, wliicli office lie held till his death, which occurred Decenil^er 
15th, 1860, aged 50 years— leaving to his family the rich legacy of a 
Christian husband and father, and to his townsmen and friends, who 
loved and respected him, the example of a Christian man. 

II. M. Sykes. 



CONCLUSION. 

By Henry M. Sykes. 

SufRold I there is magic in the word to nie. Suffield I the home of my 
fatlicrs, tlie place wliere they died and now rest. SuflRehl ! often have I 
enjoyed scenes with friends under thy iieaceful l)owers. 

Doubtless these were the thoughts of many an absent son and daughter 
of Suffield during the summer of 1870. Equally as true, also, it may be 
said of those who still remained at the "old homestead." We were all 
led, in view of the then coming celebration, to think of ten, twenty, fifty 
years now past, and on that day we sought to bring 1)efore us noI)le 
men who, in the fear of God, and in the hope of the future, laid the 
foundation of our institutions. 

They have passed away. Their sons, who sat at their feet and grew uj) 
under their influence, have also passed away. There are veneraljje and 
Ijeloved men, faithful and true — men ripe in wisdom as well as years — 
still with us; but soon they will have passed away. Time flies with tlie 
wings of a meteor, and we shall soon be called to bid farewell to these 
pleasing scenes, to these mountains, meadows, these groves and circling 
rills, and shall sleep with our fathers. 

Two hundred years ago ! We feel their influence. The hand of the 
jiast is shaping our thoughts and characters. But who shall say what 
changes are to be wrought in the hundred years to come. We shall not 
be here. We shall be sleeping with the congregation of the (k'ad, but 
the silvery waters of the Connecticut, upon wdiose banks our beautiful 
town so jirettily lies, will still roll on in its quiet way, and the same blue 
licavens shall look down on these fair and luxuriant fields as to-day. 

We shall not be here. God grant that through His grace we may be 
found in the greater assembly, which shall know no change than that 
from glory to glory, joy to joy, forever. 

And now, fellow-citizens, the day that we for so long a time looked Inr- 
ward to with such pleasant anticipations, has passed. . It is the first 
Sufheld ever witnessed. It is the last which most, if not all of us, will 
l)e permitted to enjoy. The inq)ortance of it, and similar celebrations, 
can hardly be overrated. They tend to supply materials for the general 
history of our country — for is not the history of a nation the collected re- 
sult of the account of its several component i)arts ? The more minute 



112 

ami graphic the story of the iiieidoiits which compose them, the more 
freshness, more fitlelity and sjnrit do tliey hreathe into its jjages. What 
is it that gives our most celebrated liistorians so much of fascination and 
value ? It is not so much the brilliant and glowing style with which tliey 
may clothe their labors, but it is their diligent research into ancient and 
local records, and then transferred to their own narrative. 

Historians are always greatly indebted to such records as your executive 
committee now present to you and the world. The history of New England 
has been greatly enriclied by just such commemorations as these. Towns, 
counties and families, as well as individuals, are employed in making and 
collecting materials. History, it has Ijeen said, is philoso^ihy teaching by 
example. Our history is more — it is Christianity teaching by example — it 
is high-souled patriotism — it is liberty teaching by example. 

The history of Suffield has its im2)ortancc and its interest as a portion 
of New England. It is connected with that of the early history of Mas- 
sachusetts, as well as of a little later jieriod that of the colony of Cimnecti- 
cut, and also with the history of the war of the Revolution, by which great 
and grand struggle our independence was achieved. We believe that the 
inliabitants have not lost those patriotic traits of character which distin- 
guished their forefathei'S. Some of the old Puritanic love of religion, and 
of religious liberty, still lingers here. That same love of country still 
flows through the veins of the sons, as in the fathers, and if ever they 
should be called again to vindicate the liberties left as a sacred legacy to 
us, the same courage and alacrity would stimulate our hearts. 

We hope that as the citizens of the town turn their eyes more intently 
uj)on history — that as they commune more closely with the sjiirit of their 
religious and heroic fathers — that they will catch a new and fresh in- 
spiration, and that they will attach themselves more firmly than ever to 
those institutions and elements of strength which have given them their 
New England character and prosperity. 

Although Suffield has not grown as rapidly as some other towns in our 
State, it has improved with a steady, quiet, and vigorous growth, and is 
counted as one of the considerable towns of the State. With "Onward" 
as our motto, we shall grow to a " larger estate," and exert a greater in- 
fluence. Let us then, fellow-citizens, lift high our motto — " Onward." 

To the stranger who nuiy read this book, let me say a word. 
. The comparative merit of every place, as one which should be sought 
or aljandoued, depends on the views and tastes of liim who makes the 
inquiry. On this point it is not worth while for an inhabitant to say any- 
thin<'-, lest his ad\'crtisement Ije imputed to Ije vanity ; but may he not 
su<Tgest, alter the history and description of the town, that if any man be 
influenced by the suggestion of religion, the love of philosophy, the love 
of leisure, or the love of agricultural pursuits, to retire to a healthy resi- 
dence near and convenient to two cities, where he may be a calm specta- 
tor of the strifes, follies, revolutions, both civil and religious, in the world, 
he may possibly Ihul that Suffield has some recommendations to hiui. 



113 

The ciii2)loyment of Imsbandinen, the cultivator of liis own land, has been 
represented by the poets and philosophers of all ages as the most agreea- 
ble to the nature of man. This sentiment seemed to be the motive of the 
first settlers of the town, and every successive generation must have had 
increasing proof that the way and the taste of their fathers was good ; 
and we, too, after having reviewed their doings and their character in a 
period of two hundred years, give our entire consent to the same opinion. 



" Like the first race of mortals, blest is he 
From debts, and usury, and business free ; 
With his OM'u team, who ploughs the soil, 
Which grateful once conferred his father's toil." 

As we take leave of the day whose scenes and doings we jiow present 
to you, we look forward with hope, not unmingled with solicitude, to the 
future. "We bequeath to the generations of the following century a 
precious inheritance — we bequeath to tliem a soil devoted to God by 
prayer and baptized into the name of Liberty by Revolutionary blood, 
and charge them never to alienate from its high and noble consecration. 
"We bequeath to their care the graves of most worthy men. Cherish the 
memory of their character, which we hojie you will ever respect and copy. 
"We bequeath to them a religion, whose spirit we pray that they ever may 
foster; principles of liberty, which we hope will ever fire an unquenchable 
ardor in their breasts. "We bequeath homes, which we desire may con- 
tinue to be adorned with domestic virtue and the richest sources of peace. 
"We bequeath to them habits of industry, love of order, attachment to 
temperance, j^rivileges, institutions, which we implore that they may pre. 
serve and perfect with the greatest care. "We hope that Avhen the dawn 
of the morning of October 12, 1970, shall break upon this town, it shall 
illuminate a religious, free, intelligent, improved, i^rosperous, haj^iDy 
people. 

" III pleasant lands have fallen the lines 
That bound our goodly heritage, 
And safe beneath our sheltering vines 
Our j-outh is blest, and soothed our age. 

" What thanks, God, to Thee are due. 

That Thou did'st plant our fathers here ; 
And watch and guard them as they grew, 
A vineyard to the Planter dear. 

" The toils they bore, our ease have wrought ; 
They sowed in tears — in joy we reflp ; 
The birth-right they so dearly bought 
We'll guard till we with them shall sleep." 

1o 
O 



CONNECTICUT LITERARY INSTITUTION. 

This institution is located in SufRekl, one of the most beautiful and 
"healthy towns in the Connecticut Valley, and is accessible by railroad 
communication from every part of the country. It jjossesses all the 
facilities of a first class New England Academy, with both a male and a 
female department. It employs six permanent teachers. It has three 
large and commodious public buildings, designed to accommodate one 
hundred and fifty students, with rooms and board. It is under the direc- 
tion of a l>oard of trustees, chosen from every part of the State. An 
effort is now being made to raise one hundred thousand dollars, jiartlyfor 
present use and jiartly as a j^ermanent fund, twenty-seven thousand of 
which has already been subscribed. It is the design of its trustees and 
patrons to have it, and to keep it, in the first class of institutions, for 
fitting young men for college, or for business, and afibrding young ladies 
all the facilities for a thorough education, classical, scientific, and lit- 
erary. 



ERRATA. 

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